Ultrasensitive quantification of estrogens in serum and plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Stable isotope dilution (SID) methodology coupled with liquid chromatographytandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS) is rapidly becoming the gold standard for measuring estrogens in serum and plasma due to improved specificity, high accuracy, and the ability to conduct a more comprehensive analysis. A general consideration of the problems associated with measuring estrogens and two detailed derivatization methods are described in this chapter. These methods quantify estrogens and their metabolites in serum and plasma samples using this state-of-art technology, which is applicable to the routine clinical laboratory.