Introduction
Steroids play a central role in enhancing human growth, development and normal health, since they take part in development of secondary sexual traits, reproduction, gene expression, neurological and cardiovascular functions and maturation among others. Accordingly, imbalances in the metabolic mechanisms of steroids in humans is associated with an array of health complications such as cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases and cancer among others. The foregoing underscores the importance of steroid profiling to establish its levels in humans, particularly in disease diagnosis, because it enables health professionals to understand a variety of steroid-related health conditions. For efficiency and accuracy, a good profiling method is necessary. This paper explores two steroid profiling methods validated through research findings. The analysis is based on two research papers.
Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method for Profiling of Steroid Metabolome in Human Tissue
In the research bearing the above mentioned title by Nilesh W Gaikwad, the author aims at testing a new, comprehensive steroid profiling method (Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method, UPLC-MS), which is superior to conventional methods such as liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (LC-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). The author hypothesizes that the proposed radioimmunoassay technique is better than conventional methods in many parameters, including costs, time, dynamic range, reproducibility of results and the variety of the steroids that one is able to cover using the new method (Gaikwad, 2013). In testing the assumption, the researcher performed a laboratory experiment and reported his findings, showing that the technique was more efficient than conventional ones.
The major finding of the research, as reported in the aforementioned article, is the fact that the developed radioimmunoassay technique, UPLC-MS, is better than conventional methods, since it can be used to analyze a wide range of endogenous and exogenous steroids in 12 minutes (Gaikwad, 2013). To this end, the author reports that unlike other methodologies, the developed ultra-performance technique makes it possible for medical personnel to undertake steroid profiling in biological samples more efficiently and effectively, saving time and realizing increased accuracy. According to the research findings, the new technique can be applied in radioimmunoassay procedures which require high throughput demands and accuracy. The researcher reports that the high-efficiency, ultra-performance radioimmunoassay method is capable of recovering multiple steroids in a single assay, including androgens, corticosterones, methoxyestrogens, hydroxyestrogens, 2, cattechol adducts acetates, triacetates, estrogens, ketoestrogens and progesterones among others (Gaikwad, 2013).
The study findings and conclusions are validated by the results of a structured experiment which was conducted using biological samples (from human breast tissue), in which 101 analytes were assayed. The relative errors and coefficients of variation, as well as the limits of detection were measured during the experiment to ensure that the final results were accurate. Factoring all the control measures to ensure the optimal experimental standards and conditions, the researcher obtained an 89. 2% recovery accuracy of all the 101 steroids analyzed, within a duration of 12 minutes (Gaikwad, 2013). The sample preparation procedures and the actual assay was also shown to be less time-consuming and cost effective, besides the wide range of steroids that could be tested in a singular analysis. The foregoing statistical and analytical evidence confirmed the research hypothesis, leading to the author’s conclusion that the developed UPLC-MS technique was more efficient, low-cost and delivered high rates of accuracy, underscoring its applicability in laboratory and clinical steroid assays.
The research findings in this study are important in the medical and academic fields concerning the study and treatment of health conditions related to steroid hormones such as cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. To this end, the new, proposed technique for profiling steroid metabolome in human tissues could be used to bolster efficiency and accuracy in the diagnosis of the aforementioned diseases (Gaikwad, 2013). This is because the new technique is designed and optimized to cover a wide range of endogenous and exogenous steroids, unlike conventional methods. Also, seeing that the proposed technique is more comprehensive, low-cost and less time consuming, the research findings could be applied to cut profiling tests, and obtain accurate results for a wide range of steroid hormones in human tissue in a timely manner. Effectively, the study findings could go a long way in bolstering efficiency, reliability and accuracy in clinical and laboratory tests involving steroid hormone assays. Lastly, the research is important in related academic fields, as the information can be used as reference in the study of steroid hormones, related diseases and similar topics.
Comprehensive and Highly Sensitive Urinary Steroid Hormone Profiling Method Based on Stable Isotope-Labeling Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy.
The above mentioned research conducted by Weidong Dai and company underscored the importance of having an efficient steroid profiling method with a view to understanding the mechanisms of various steroid hormone-related diseases. Suitably, the researchers purposed to present a specific metabolic profiling technique, based on the use of an easily protonated stable isotope tag introduced to a hydroxyl-containing steroid hormone, with a synthesized derivatization reagent (DMBA- deuterium-4- (dimethylamino)-benzoic acid) and liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (LC-MS). The researchers performed a structured experiment to test the assumption that the proposed technique was better than regular methodologies, because it had the capability of covering a variety of hydroxyl-containing corticoids, progesterone, androgens and estrogens, without destroying the non-derivatized steroids, whose levels could still be analyzed using an LC-MS procedure (Dai et al., 2013).
The researchers found that the proposed method was indeed more accurate and could be used to quantify up to 24 steroid hormones, including hydroxyl-containing androgens, estrogens, progesterone and corticoids. These findings were attributed to the derivatization reagent, which increased the sensitivity of the assay system up to over 10,000 times (Dai et al., 2013). What is more, the results showed that the high-performance method has high intrabatch and interbatch precision rates of average RSDs of 9.1% and 12.1 % respectively (Dai et al., 2013). In addition, the research found that even after derivatization of the hydroxyl-containing steroid hormones, the non-derivatized molecules were not destroyed, hence could be quantified using a simultaneous LC-MS procedure. In effect, the study findings imply that the presented method was more effective than previous techniques.
The study findings are supported by the experimental results which provide evidence to the efficiency of the proposed technique. To this end, the experimental results, obtained from the procedure which utilized urine solutes extracted using an optimized SPE procedure and derivatized using DMAB, confirmed that the highly sensitive urinary steroid profiling method based on the isotope-labeling LC-MS, was efficient in analyzing the wide range of hydroxyl-containing steroid hormones, and simultaneously quantifying the non-derivatized steroids. This led the researcher to confirm their hypothesis and conclude that the procedure was more comprehensive and sensitive than previously used techniques.
This research is important in medicine, because its findings could be applied to improve the diagnosis of steroid hormone-related diseases. As it were, while the conventional radioimmunoassay methods already in use are effective, they have been shown to be less comprehensive and sensitive in covering a wide range of urinary steroid hormones. Accordingly, the proposed technique which the research findings show is more comprehensive and highly sensitive in detecting a broad range of hydroxyl-containing steroids could be applied to enhance efficiency. This could go a long way in facilitating a better understanding of the mechanisms of the steroid hormone-related diseases and their management, besides cutting the associated costs. What is more, the research findings add to the existing literature on steroid hormones profiling procedures and techniques, which may be used for clinical and academic reference purposes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the two research articles explored in this write-up present essential findings in the study and diagnosis of steroid hormones and related diseases. In both articles, the researchers have a clear purpose and hypothesis, and undertake credible experiments to test the hypothesis and provide evidence for why and how the proposed steroid assay techniques are more comprehensive and reliable than existing methods. The research work is line with the need for continuous improvements of medical procedures and techniques with a view to bolstering efficiency, cutting costs, enhancing accuracy and reducing the working time. Not only do the studies contribute to improvement of the current radioimmunoassay techniques, they also augment the existing literature in the field of steroid hormones and related diseases, which goes a long way in enhancing the study of mechanisms of the hormones and the diseases associated with imbalances in their metabolism.
References
Dai, W., Huang, Q., Yin, P., Li, J., Zhou, J., Kong, H., Zhao, C., Lu, X., & Xu, G. (2012).
Comprehensive And Highly Sensitive Urinary Steroid Hormone Profiling Method Based on Stable Isotope-Labeling Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy. Analytical Chemistry, 84: 10245-10251.
Gaikwad, N.W. (2013). Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectroscopy
Method for Profiling of Steroid Metabolome in Human Tissue. Analytical Chemistry, 85: 4951-4960.
