An LC-MS/MS method for serum methylmalonic acid suitable for monitoring vitamin B12 status in population surveys

Anal Bioanal Chem. 2015 Apr;407(11):2955-64. doi: 10.1007/s00216-014-8148-2. Epub 2014 Sep 26.

Abstract

Methylmalonic acid (MMA), a functional indicator of vitamin B12 insufficiency, was measured in the US population in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999 to 2004 using a GC/MS procedure that required 275 μL of sample and had a low throughput (36 samples/run). Our objective was to introduce a more efficient yet highly accurate LC-MS/MS method for NHANES 2011-2014. We adapted the sample preparation with some modifications from a published isotope-dilution LC-MS/MS procedure. The procedure utilized liquid-liquid extraction and generation of MMA dibutyl ester. Reversed-phase chromatography with isocratic elution allowed baseline resolution of MMA from its naturally occurring structural isomer succinic acid within 4.5 min. Our new method afforded an increased throughput (≤160 samples/run) and measured serum MMA with high sensitivity (LOD = 22.1 nmol/L) in only 75 μL of sample. Mean (±SD) recovery of MMA spiked into serum (2 d, 4 levels, 2 replicates each) was 94 % ± 5.5 %. Total imprecision (41 d, 2 replicates each) for three serum quality control pools was 4.9 %-7.9 % (97.1-548 nmol/L). The LC-MS/MS method showed excellent correlation (n = 326, r = 0.99) and no bias (Deming regression, Bland-Altman analysis) compared to the previous GC/MS method. Both methods produced virtually identical mean (±SD) MMA concentrations [LC-MS/MS: 18.47 ± 0.71 ng/mL (n = 17), GC/MS: 18.18 ± 0.67 ng/mL (n = 11)] on a future plasma reference material compared with a GC/MS method procedure from the National Institute of Standards and Technology [18.41 ± 0.70 ng/mL (n = 15)]. No adjustment will be necessary to compare previous (1999-2004) to future (2011-2014) NHANES MMA data.

MeSH terms

  • Anticoagulants / blood
  • Anticoagulants / pharmacology
  • Calibration
  • Chromatography, Liquid / methods*
  • Chromatography, Liquid / standards
  • Chromatography, Reverse-Phase / methods
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
  • Humans
  • Liquid-Liquid Extraction
  • Methylmalonic Acid / blood*
  • Nutrition Surveys
  • Quality Control
  • Reference Standards
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Succinic Acid / blood
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry / methods*
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry / standards
  • Vitamin B 12 / analysis*

Substances

  • Anticoagulants
  • Methylmalonic Acid
  • Succinic Acid
  • Vitamin B 12