Analytical Methods for the Determination of Anti-diuretic Peptides in Biological Samples: Challenges and Perspectives

Anti-diuretic peptides are widely used for the control of body water balance. With the growing concerns on their pharmacological characteristics and clinical safety, there is an increasing request of sensitive, selective and robust analytical assays for the determination of anti-diuretics in biological samples. This article provides a perspective review of various methodologies developed and validated in the past, including immunoassay (IA), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and capillary electrophoresis (CE), with detections of radio, UV, fluorescence and mass spectrometry. Systematic description of each technique was given and emphasis was laid on the problems encountered with each assay. Despite the infrequent application of mass spectrometry in anti-diuretics quantitative analysis, it was highlighted here for its remarkable sensitivity and selectivity. The ultimate aim of this review is to demonstrate the analytical options of peptide determination and promote the quantification of peptide-like drugs and biomarkers in respect to fast-expanding peptide market and therapeutics.