Chromatographic Methods

Chromatography is an analytical technique commonly used for separating a mixture of substances into its individual components. It is a family of separation techniques known for their high resolution and specificity. These techniques are one of the most widely used technologies in oxidative stress assessment in research and clinical practice. Several components of oxidative stress such as protein, lipid, carbohydrate, and DNA oxidative end-products (e.g., malondialdehyde (MDA), 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE), conjugated dienes, isoprostanes (IsoPs), protein carbonyl) can be detected using a variety of chromatographic methods (particularly HPLC and GC equipped with different detectors). Antioxidant compounds can also be detected using this technology with high sensitivity (e.g., glutathione (GSH), coenzyme Q10, and vitamin E). The present state of knowledge and future trends in oxidative stress research using chromatographic techniques are presented in depth in this chapter. We give a comprehensive review of all available methods allowing for the detection of most of the stress markers with especial emphasis on their limitations and advantages. Many solutions are given and briefly summarized.