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Quantitation of Neuroblastoma Markers Homovanillic Acid (HVA) and Vanillylmandelic Acid (VMA) in Urine by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS)

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Clinical Applications of Mass Spectrometry in Biomolecular Analysis

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2546))

Abstract

Neuroblastoma and other neural crest tumors can be characterized by the increased production and excretion of catecholamines and their metabolites. Homovanillic acid (HVA) and vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) are important catecholamine metabolites that can be measured to provide relatively rapid laboratory diagnosis and clinical follow-up of neuroblastoma. We present a procedure to quantify HVA and VMA in urine samples which have been diluted to a creatinine concentration of 2 mg/dL. Diluted samples are spiked with deuterated internal standards, acidified, and extracted with an organic solvent. A bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA) with 1% trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS) and pyridine mixture is added to the dried extract to create trimethylsilyl derivatives of HVA and VMA. The derivatized compounds are measured using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS).

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Correspondence to Uttam Garg .

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Beals, M., Ramoo, B., Clinton Frazee, C., Garg, U. (2022). Quantitation of Neuroblastoma Markers Homovanillic Acid (HVA) and Vanillylmandelic Acid (VMA) in Urine by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). In: Garg, U. (eds) Clinical Applications of Mass Spectrometry in Biomolecular Analysis. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2546. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2565-1_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2565-1_17

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-2564-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-2565-1

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