Eicosanoids and related metabolites (oxylipins) possess potent signaling properties, elicit numerous important physiologic responses, and serve as biomarkers of disease. In addition to their presence in free form, a considerable portion of these bioactive lipids is esterified to complex lipids in cell membranes and plasma lipoproteins. We developed a rapid and sensitive method for the analysis of esterified oxylipins using alkaline hydrolysis to release them followed by ultra-performance LC coupled with mass spectrometric analysis.
