Small polar compounds present a significant analytical challenge, particularly in an environment where fast turnaround with no compromise on quality is expected.  Notably, bioanalysis of this type of compound is compromised by poor retention on generic reverse-phase LC systems and low sensitivity as a result of inefficient mass spectrometric ionisation.  The challenge is intensified when the analysis involves dried blood spots (DBS), for which the generic methodology is extraction in organic solvent, an approach that is typically unsuitable for more polar compounds.

In this poster we discussed the approaches to optimising the extraction, separation and detection for these small polar compounds.