Studies on steroids. III. A new type of derivative for electron capture-gas chromatography of ketosteroids.
Pentafluorobenzyloxyamine is presented as a new derivatizing agent for gas chromatography of ketones using electron capture detection. The typical 17-ketosteroid was readily transformed into the O-pentafluorobenzyloxime which on usual trimethylsilylation led to a 3-trimethylsilyl ether derivative exhibiting good gas chromatographic properties. The derivatization procedure was applied to the determination of dehydroepiandrosterone in human plasma by electron capture-gas chromatography employing an internal standard method and in consequence satisfactory results were obtained.