The use of capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry for the determination of acidic dopamine metabolites in human brain

A capillary gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric method was developed for the determination of homovanillic acid and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid in discrete areas of human brain known to contain only small amounts of dopamine metabolites. The electron impact mass spectra of the trimethylsilyl derivatives of homovanillic acid and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and their deuterated isotopic variants were used for their identification and quantification.