Use of high-performance liquid chromatographic–mass spectrometric (LC–MS) techniques for the determination of nicotine and its metabolites

This chapter discusses the application of high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods for the determination of nicotine and its metabolites with emphasis on mass spectrometric detection. Other important detectors, such as radiometric and diode arrays detectors, are covered in brief. The role of HPLC in studying nicotine metabolism and the operation of several liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) interfaces are described in the chapter. Qualitative strategies for LC–MS are discussed and applications that determine nicotine metabolites are presented to illustrate these points. Finally, practical considerations of LC–MS operation and cost are given. Improvements in commercial instruments have made LC–MS as easy as gas chromatography (GC)–MS in operation. There are two important considerations to get the most out of an LC–MS system. First of all, familiarity with HPLC is important, particularly, for quantitative applications. Second, most of the interfaces produce molecular adducts that provide superb molecular weight information but little structural information. Thus, tandem mass spectrometry, as a triple stage system or an ion trap, may be worth the extra expenditure.