Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry-based approaches for determination of pancreatic hormones

Pancreatic hormones are produced in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas and are secreted to regulate blood sugar levels. Key pancreatic hormones are insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin. The measurement of these peptides/small proteins is essential in the study of the endocrine system, regulating diseases such as diabetes mellitus, but also in doping control and forensics. In this review, we focus on approaches for measuring pancreatic hormones using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC–MS). A rich variety of LC–MS approaches are used, including variations in LC column dimensions and chemistry, factors that are crucial regarding sensitivity, selectivity, robustness, and speed. In addition, several sample preparation methods are used (protein precipitation, immunopurification, etc.), for the analysis of matrices such as blood, urine, and cell culture medium. There are also several variants for mass spectrometric analysis, both targeted and non-targeted, using both lower and high-resolution instruments. LC–MS allows for sensitive, multi-hormone measurements, confidently distinguishing between hormones and their analogs, metabolites, and degradation products. The speed of analysis can be pushed down to a few minutes, with methods being validated and clinically applied. The review focuses on papers that have been published between 2019 and 2024.