STUDIES OF COPROSTANOL (5-BETA-CHOLESTAN-3-BETA-OL) IN ENVIRONMENTAL-SAMPLES BY TANDEM MASS-SPECTROMETRY

Cholesterol, coprostanol, dihydrocholesterol, and epicoprostanol are t he principal fecal sterols found in animal feces. Coprostanol, a stero l formed exclusively in the gut of man and higher mammals, has been re cognized as a good indicator of pollution of water resources by sewage discharges. Because of structural similarities, complete resolution o f chromatographic peaks presents a difficult task, especially for copr ostanol and its epimers. In this paper, separation of coprostanol and epicoprostanol after conversion to their corresponding trimethylsilyl derivatives is described. Confirmation of the identity of coprostanol is achieved by tandem mass spectrometry. Interfering compounds can be eliminated by virtue of their different retention times or their mass spectra. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.