Development and validation of a high-throughput micro solid-phase extraction method coupled with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry for rapid identification and quantification of phenolic metabolites in human plasma and urine

A rapid and high-throughput micro-solid phase extraction (μ-SPE) method coupled with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC Q-TOF MS) analysis was optimized and validated for the quantification of 67 (poly)phenol metabolites in human plasma and urine using authentic standards. The method was fully validated in terms of specificity, linearity, method detection limit (MDL), method quantification limit (MQL), repeatability, intra- and inter-day precision, accuracy and matrix effects. The method proved to be specific and results showed linearity of responses for all compounds, with MDL ranging between 0.04 nM and 86 nM in plasma and between 0.01 nM and 136 nM in urine. MQL ranged between 0.14 nM and 286 nM in plasma and between 0.03 nM and 465 nM in urine. Repeatability varied between 1.7 and 9.2% in plasma and between 2.2% and 10.4% in urine. Median precision values of 8.7 and 11.5% (intra-day), and 10.8% and 10.0% (inter-day) were obtained in plasma and urine, respectively. The median recovery was 89% in both biological matrices. Matrix effects were determined and median values of −1.2% and −6.8% in plasma and urine were obtained. After method validation, 49 and 57 compounds, including phase II and gut microbial metabolites, were quantified in plasma and urine, respectively, following cranberry juice consumption. This methodology can be applied to large-scale human dietary intervention trials allowing for high sample throughput.