Parameter Set - Tricyclic Antidepressants TCA 2 - LC-MS/MS

Clinical relevance

Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are used to treat psychological conditions such as anxiety, pain syndromes, and phobias, and produce a positive mood enhancing effect. Their pharmacological effect is based on increasing the concentration of dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin in the synaptic cleft by inhibiting the degradation or reuptake of these neurotransmitters. TCAs are highly lipophilic and are absorbed rapidly from the gastrointestinal tract after oral administration. Even before they reach their site of action in the brain, a fraction is already metabolised in the liver (first-pass effect). Regular determination of the plasma levels can minimise the risk of side effects resulting from overdose. Furthermore, patient compliance can be checked by this procedure to help ensure optimal therapeutic success.

Product advantages

With the Parameter Set Tricyclic Antidepressants TCA 2 in serum/plasma, 7 different drugs can be measured quickly and efficiently using LC-MS/MS. Due to the careful optimisation of all kit components as well as the chromatographic separation, matrix effects (“ion suppression”) are minimised and the robustness of the method is enhanced. Sample preparation is based on a protein precipitation step. The use of stable isotopically labelled (deuterated) and co-eluting internal standards as well as 3PLUS1® multilevel calibrators ensures high precision and the reproducible and reliable quantification of the analytes. The method is comprehensively validated.

The Parameter Set is a part of the Series A modular system, which enables the analysis of all parameters without switching column or changing the mobile phases, thereby minimising required workload in the laboratory. The Basic Kit A contains all components required for sample preparation and all necessary mobile phases. The MasterColumn® A is the analytical column used for the determination of all Series A analytes. Our portfolio contains further MassTox® Parameter Sets.

For the analysis you require the MassTox® TDM Basic Kit A, the specific MassTox® TDM Parameter Set and the analytical column MassTox® TDM MasterColumn® A.