Circulating catecholamine levels is an important indicator of cardiovascular homeostasis and fluctuates is response to surgical
stress, pain related stress and other sympathoadrenal-mediated events.
In our laboratory, the use of HPLC with electrochemical detection quantitates catecholamine levels following a solid phase
alumina extraction in plasma. The separation of plasma catecholamines by HPLC is dependent upon the individual physical properties
of each catecholamine in relationship to the stationary phase and the mobile phase. Each catecholamine, Norepinephrine, Epinephrine
and Dopamine, is easily distinguishable with good chromatographic resolution.
The electrical current produced upon oxidation of each catecholamine is directly proportional to the amount of catecholamine
injected. Plasma Catecholamine values (pg/ml) are calculated for individual samples by means of a linear regression analysis,
based upon a triplicate injection of a single-point external reference standard. In addition, the use of 3,4-dihydroxybenzylamine
(DHBA) as an internal reference standard corrects for recovery, handling and dilution artifacts in the assay. The limit of
detection for all Catecholamines is 1.0pg/ml.
