Supercritical fluid extraction of isoflavones from biological samples with ultra-fast high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.

An efficient method of modifier addition for supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of polar isoflavones was developed and yielded extraordinarily high recoveries. To find the optimal extraction conditions, a temperature and pressure optimization and modifier impact study was performed in naturally contaminated and spiked samples. Ultra-fast high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) was used for the determination of isoflavones on an Atlantis dC18 high-speed reversed phase chromatographic column (20 x 2.1 mm, 3 microm particle size). A newly elaborated supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) procedure allowed more accurate (< 5%) and precise (< 4-7%) determination of isoflavones in biological materials. The HPLC/MS method significantly reduced analysis time with simultaneous improvement of sensitivity and detection limits. The on-column limits of detection LOD (S/N = 3) for isoflavone glycosides (daidzin, genistin, glycitin, ononin, and sissotrin) were 1.3-3.6 fmol and 0.2-1.0 fmol for aglycones (daidzein, glycitein, genistein, formononetin, and biochanin A), respectively.