Hello Rowena

Many routine laboratories dealing with dopamine quantification in human urine use HPLC coupled to electrochemical detection (coulometric or amperometric, both potentiostatic) or (U)HPLC coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (e. g. Article Simultaneous quantification of neuroactive dopamine serotoni...

Moreover, you have to consider pre-analytics as the analytes are delicate. Acetic or hydrochloric acid as a preservative would be recommendable.

Although, these HPLC-ECD methods could probably be easily validated for the murine matrix, they use quite a lot of sample and pre-treatment by IEX.

You should probably focus on LC-MS which is also more feasible for a metabolite profile.

Do you plan on collecting urine for a certain period of time (is that even feasible/possible with mice experiments?) or use spot urine?

Please let me know if I could be of service.

Kind regards,

Peter

Thanks very much for your reply. Actually, I would like to design a behavioural experiment with mice subjects, looking at how rich and varied colour elements within their different chambers affect dopamine activity and the level of its metabolites (homovanillic acid) present in their urine sample. I presume that collection should take place throughout the time the mice are placed in the chambers, taking into consideration time it takes for dopamine to be metabolised and excreted...Perhaps, at least 12 hours?? Not inclined to use any invasive procedure to quantify dopamine in the brain.

The half-life of dopamine in vivo is well beyond 1 hour. The metabolites will stay much longer, especially in urine. Twelve hours seem to be feasible from my point of view.

Thanks!