Iothalamate quantification by tandem mass spectrometry to measure glomerular filtration rate

BACKGROUND: Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) can be determined by measuring renal clearance of the radio-contrast agent iothalamate. Current analytic methods for quantifying iothalamate concentrations in plasma and urine using liquid chromatography or capillary electrophoresis have limitations such as long analysis times and susceptibility to interferences. We developed a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method to overcome these limitations. METHODS: Urine and plasma samples were deproteinized using acetonitrile and centrifugation. The supernatant was diluted in water and analyzed by LC-MS/MS using a water:methanol gradient. We monitored 4 multiple reaction monitoring transitions: m/z 614.8-487.0, 614.8-456.0, 614.8 -361.1, and 614.8 -177.1. We compared the results to those obtained via our standard capillary electrophoresis (CE-UV) on samples from 53 patients undergoing clinical GFR testing. RESULTS: Mean recovery was 90%-110% in both urine and plasma matrices. Imprecision was ≤15% for the m/z 614.8-487.0 and 614.8-456.0 transitions over a 10-day period at 1 mg/L. Method comparison for 159 patient samples (53 clearances) provided the following Passing-Bablok regressions: plasma iothalamate LC-MS/MS (y) vs CE-UV (x), y = 0.99x + 0.36; urine iothalamate LC-MS/MS vs CE-UV, y = 1.01x + 0.31; corrected GFR LC-MS/MS vs CE-UV, y = 1.00x + 0.00. Interfering substances prevented accurate iothalamate quantification by CE-UV in 2 patients, whereas these samples could be analyzed by LC-MS/MS. CONCLUSIONS: Iothalamate can be quantified by LCMS/MS for GFR measurement. This method circumvents potential problems with interfering substances that occasionally confound accurate GFR determinations.