Automated pre-column derivatization in gas chromatography amino acid analysis via enantiomer labelling: An application of autoderivat 100

Summary An apparatus for the automatic derivatization of samples for chromatography is described. When coupled with an autosampler, gaschromatograph and calculating integrator, the system may be used as a fully automatic amino acid analyser, utilizing the advantages of enantiomer labelling. Presented at the 15th International Symposium on Chromatography, Nürnberg, October 1984     

Simple and low-cost high-performance liquid chromatographic method for determination of D- and L-amino acids

In this article, a simple and low-cost method for the analysis of amino acid enantiomers by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is described. In this method, the amino acids are modified to diastereomers in order to be separated into enantiomers on a usual C(18) reversed-phase column. Methanol instead of acetonitrile is used as an elution solvent; the results of HPLC with methanol elution are comparable with those of HPLC with acetonitrile elution. Sub-nanomolar sensitivity is attained by measuring the absorbance at 340 nm in analysis of 15 amino-acid enantiomers.     

A study of chiral recognition for NBD-derivatives on a Pirkle-type chiral stationary phase.

A chiral stationary phase (CSP 1) derived from an (S)-N-3,5-dinitrobenzoyl-1-naphthylglycine showed excellent enantiomeric separation for amino acid derivatives with a fluorogenic reagent, 4-fluoro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD-F), in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). We compared elution profiles (separation factor and elution order) of NBD-amino acids and their analogs on HPLC, to determine the diastereomeric complex between the chiral moiety of CSP 1 and NBD-amino acid, which is responsible for the chiral recognition. (1)H-NMR studies of a mixture of model compound of CSP 1 and NBD-Ala suggest that the diastereomeric complex is composed of two hydrogen bonding sites at the amino proton and oxygen atom, and a pi-pi interaction by the benzofurazan structure (2,1,3-benzoxadiazole) of NBD-amino acid. Furthermore CSP 1 was able to separate esters, amides and alpha-methyl amino acids derivatized with NBD-F.     

Amino acid, fatty acid, and carbohydrate content of Artocarpus altilis (breadfruit)

A study is conducted to determine the amino acid, fatty acid, and carbohydrate content of breadfruit using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC). An HPLC method is used for the determination of amino acids and fatty acids in breadfruit. Representative amino acid samples are derivatized with phenylisothiocianate and the resulting phenylthiocarbamyl derivatives are separated on a reversed-phase column by gradient elution with a 0.05M ammonium acetate buffer and 0.01M ammonium acetate in acetonitrile-methanol-water (44:10:46, v/v). Representative fatty acid samples are derivatized with phenacyl bromide and the resulting fatty acid phenacyl esters are separated on a reversed-phase column by gradient elution with acetonitrile and water. Amino acid and fatty acid derivatives are detected by ultraviolet detection at 254 nm. The analysis of the carbohydrates in breadfruit employs a GC method. Carbohydrates are derivatized using trimethylchlorosilane and hexamethyldisilazane to form trimethylsilyl ethers. Compounds in the samples are separated by the temperature programming of a GC using nitrogen as the carrier gas. Percent recoveries of amino acids, fatty acids, and carbohydrates are 72.5%, 68.2%, and 81.4%, respectively. The starch content of the breadfruit is 15.52 g/100 g fresh weight.     

Rapid ion-exchange method for the determination of 3-methylhistidine in rat urine and skeletal muscle

A method for the determination of 3-methylhistidine using an automatic amino acid analyser has been developed. A single column system with lithium buffer (pH 3.950, 0.500 mol/l lithium and 0.067 mol/l citrate) was used for elution. The standard amino acid mixture of basic amino acids and some dipeptides usually present in physiological fluids was analysed for the development of the method. 3-Methylhistidine eluted in 46.7 +/- 0.049 min and the peak area coefficient of variation for the same sample was 1.07%. As 3-methylhistidine is completely resolved from the other basic amino acids and some dipeptides (anserine and carnosine), this method is suitable for the analysis of urine and muscle extracts as well as skeletal muscle protein hydrolysates where this amino acid is present in much lower concentrations than other amino acids.     

Optimization of the mobile phase composition in gradient elution reversed-phase HPLC by stochastic prediction

Summary Quantitative analysis of more than ten compounds in a sample generally requires complex mobile phases to optimize the separation of the analytes by gradient elution reversed-phase HPLC. For this purpose, CHEOPS, a software package has been developed from the fully stochastic Computer Chromatogram Simulation Method. Calculation principles and optimization criteria are described. Experimental validation is presented with amino acids and steroids.     

A fully automated catecholamines analyzer based on cartridge extraction and HPLC separation

Summary A fully automated analyzer is described for the HPLC analysis of catecholamines. Firstly urinary and plasma catecholamines are reacted with diphenylboronic acid giving a complex without requiring a pH-meter step. This complex is strongly retained on a C 18 cartridge and elution with acetic acid solutions shows recoveries higher than 90 %. The catecholamines are eluted also by the mobile phase employed for the HPLC’ analysis. An intelligent autosampler makes the complex and fills a loop with all the solvents necessary for the sample cleanup. It then inverts the flow and pumps the sample and the solvents throught the cartridge. In the elution step the disposable extraction cartridge is positioned on stream with the HPLC analytical column by an automatic sampler. The separation is performed by ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, with sodium dodecyl sulphate as pairing ion, a short analytical column and electrochemical detection. The HPLC analysis time is 3 min and the total sample turnover time is 8 min. The recoveries and the precision of the analyzer are given together with correlation with manual HPLC.     

Simultaneous determination of hydrophilic amino acid enantiomers in mammalian tissues and physiological fluids applying a fully automated micro-two-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatographic concept

A validated two-dimensional HPLC system combining a microbore-monolithic ODS column and a narrowbore-enantioselective column has been established for a sensitive and simultaneous analysis of hydrophilic amino acid enantiomers (His, Asn, Ser, Gln, Arg, Asp, allo-Thr, Glu and Thr) and the non-chiral amino acid, Gly, in biological samples. To accomplish this goal, the amino acids were first tagged with 4-fluoro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD-F) to the respective fluorescent NBD derivatives which were separated in the first dimension by a micro-reversed-phase column. The automatically collected fractions of the target peaks were then transferred to the second dimension consisting of a Pirkle type enantioselective column generating separation factors higher than 1.13 for all the enantiomeric target analytes. The system was validated using standard amino acids and a rat plasma sample, and analytically satisfactory calibration and precision results were obtained. The present 2D-HPLC system enables the fully automated determination of hydrophilic amino acid enantiomers in mammalian samples. The d-isomers of all the investigated 9 amino acids were found in rat urine but at various enantiomeric ratios.     

高效液相色谱-蒸发光散射检测法直接检测20种未衍生基本氨基酸

应用国产蒸发光散射检测器(ELSD),建立了一种采用反相高效液相色谱-蒸发光散射检测器(RHPLC-ELSD)直接测定20种未衍生基本氨基酸的分析方法,并将其用于氨基酸注射液中氨基酸含量的测定。采用BISCHOFFTM　C18 AQ PLUS色谱柱(250 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm)分离,以甲醇-0.2%七氟丁酸溶液(含0.1%三氟乙酸)为流动相进行梯度洗脱,流速0.8 mL/min,ELSD飘移管温度40 ℃,载气流量2.5 L/min,对20种基本氨基酸进行分离检测。氨基酸的质量浓度在30～300 mg/L范围内,其峰面积的对数值与进样质量的对数值呈良好的线性关系;氨基酸的检出限(信噪比(S/N)＞3)介于24 ～100 ng之间,样品加标回收率为90.6%～106.0%。结果表明,该系统及方法操作简便快速、准确可靠,无需依靠专门的氨基酸分析仪或衍生处理氨基酸即可直接测定氨基酸注射液中氨基酸含量,为药品、食品及化工生产等领域混合氨基酸样品的直接检测提供了参考。     

Capillary electrophoresis for diagnosis and studies of human disease, particularly metabolic disorders.

High-performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) has been used in a multicomponent analytical system designed to diagnose and study human diseases, particularly metabolic disorders. Comparative analyses, using HPCE, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and an automated amino acid analyser, were carried out on urine and blood samples from patients with homocystinuria, cystinuria, glutathione synthetase deficiency and adenylosuccinase deficiency. HPCE of the sulphur-containing amino compounds, derivatized with monobromobimane and detected by fluorescence spectroscopy, was a quick and simple alternative to classical amino acid analysis. The detection of the characteristic succinylpurines associated with adenylosuccinase defect was equally well achieved with HPLC and HPCE (absorbance detector). Owing to the possible connection between deficiency of taurine (2-amino-1-ethanesulphonic acid) in the heart and the development of cardiomyopathy and heart failure, a simple HPCE method was developed for the determination of taurine in sub-milligram samples of biopsies of the myocardium. The homologue 3-amino-1-propanesulphonic acid was the internal standard, and derivatives of 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate and fluorescence detection were used. It is suggested that the potential of HPCE to analyse small volumes should be exploited in biomedicine and clinical diagnosis to analyse sub-milligram samples of tissue biopsies and cells.     

Microextraction of Rosmarinic Acid Using CMK-3 Nanoporous Carbon in a Packed Syringe

CMK-3 nanoporous carbon was prepared and used as an efficient sorbent for microextraction in packed syringe of rosmarinic acid in Rosmarinus officinalis L. (rosemary). In the proposed method, only 2 mg of the nanoporous material, inserted between a syringe’s barrel and needle, was sufficient for the extraction with minimum consumption of organic solvents. Sample preparation was performed on the packed bed using a laboratory-made programmable apparatus. The apparatus was designed and used for automation of the conditioning, sampling, washing and elution steps of the method, and increasing the reproducibility of the experiments. For optimization of the experimental parameters, a central composite design method was used. Under the optimized conditions (i.e., number of adsorption cycles 14 times, number of elution cycles ten times and volume of elution 100 μL), an extraction recovery of 90 (±4.5) % was obtained for rosmarinic acid. The same packing bed could be used for at least 80 extractions without significant changes in its properties. The efficiency of the nanoporous sorbent was found to be superior to that of activated carbon, by a factor of about 17. The proposed method was successfully applied to the extraction of three rosemary samples before analysis by HPLC.     

Spot and Mobile-Phase Front Anomalies in Planar (Thin-Layer) Chromatography

The advantages and variations of thin-layer chromatography are described in detail. The displacement mode of development is generated in a relatively short distance, and the fully developed displacement train concentrates sample components even from an elongated spot. Two-dimensional TLC using both elution and displacement thin-layer chromatography enables excellent separation of spots; results from 2D TLC cannot, however, be derived directly from two one-dimensional runs. Secondary mobile-phase fronts occur because of the dry state of stationary phase, which absorbs the mobile phase. Occasional problems with the reproducibility of R_F values arise because of adsorption of the mobile phase components by the dry stationary phase and evaporation at the solvent front. The use of 2D TLC in pharmacognosy enables separation of the components and also helps in the planning of preparative-scale separations by classical column chromatography and/or HPLC.     

Microextraction of Rosmarinic Acid Using CMK-3 Nanoporous Carbon in a Packed Syringe

CMK-3 nanoporous carbon was prepared and used as an efficient sorbent for microextraction in packed syringe of rosmarinic acid in Rosmarinus officinalis L. (rosemary). In the proposed method, only 2 mg of the nanoporous material, inserted between a syringe’s barrel and needle, was sufficient for the extraction with minimum consumption of organic solvents. Sample preparation was performed on the packed bed using a laboratory-made programmable apparatus. The apparatus was designed and used for automation of the conditioning, sampling, washing and elution steps of the method, and increasing the reproducibility of the experiments. For optimization of the experimental parameters, a central composite design method was used. Under the optimized conditions (i.e., number of adsorption cycles 14 times, number of elution cycles ten times and volume of elution 100 μL), an extraction recovery of 90 (±4.5) % was obtained for rosmarinic acid. The same packing bed could be used for at least 80 extractions without significant changes in its properties. The efficiency of the nanoporous sorbent was found to be superior to that of activated carbon, by a factor of about 17. The proposed method was successfully applied to the extraction of three rosemary samples before analysis by HPLC.

     

Structural scaffold of 18-crown-6 tetracarboxylic Acid for optical resolution of chiral amino acid: x-ray crystal analyses of complexes of D- and L-isomers of serine and glutamic acid

(+)-18-crown-6 tetracarboxylic acid (18C6H4) has been used as a chiral selector for D/L-amino acids in HPLC, where L-isomer is usually eluted prior to D-isomer, except for the case of serine. To clarify why serine exhibits the reverse order for the elusion, the chiral interactions of D- and L-serines with (+)-18C6H4 were investigated by the X-ray single crystal analyses, together with the case of D- and L-glutamic acids, which exhibit the usual elution order in HPLC. The backbone structures (amino, Calpha-H and carboxyl groups) of these four amino acids showed the nearly same interaction with (+)-18C6H4 despite their different chirality. In contrast, the hydroxyl group of L-serine side chain formed a hydrogen bond with the carboxyl group of (+)-18C6H4, whereas such a interaction was not formed for the side chain of D-serine and D- and L-glutamic acids. Thus, it was shown that the exception of D/L-serine from the first elution rule of L-isomer in HPLC is due to the presence and absence of a hydrogen bond formation of its side chain OH group.     

Control of impurities in l-aspartic acid and l-alanine by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a corona charged aerosol detector

In this study a reversed phase ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method using charged aerosol detection (CAD) was developed and fully validated for the pharmaceutical quality control of l-aspartic acid (Asp). With a slight modification, the method also allows the evaluation of related substances in l-alanine (Ala). The method enables simultaneous control of related amino acids and of possibly occurring organic acids contaminants. A minimum limit of quantification of 0.03% could be achieved for all occurring related substances. Moreover, the detector sensitivity of the CAD was compared with an evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD). Depending on the analyte the CAD was found to be 3.6–42 times more sensitive than the ELSD. The HPLC method was applied to the purity testing of 8 samples of pharmaceutical grade and reagent grade Asp and of 12 samples of Ala supplied by various manufacturers. Both substances were found to be of high purity (greater than 99.8% for Asp and greater than 99.9% for Ala). Malic acid and Ala were the major impurities in Asp. Asp and glutamic acid (Glu) were the only detectable impurities in Ala.     

Measurement of plasma and urine amino acids by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection using phenylisothiocyanate derivatization

The use of reversed-phase liquid chromatography (LC) with pre-column derivatization for the analysis of amino acid mixtures is becoming established as a possible cheaper alternative to commercial amino acid analysers. The available derivatization procedures all have disadvantages when applied to clinical samples, partly due to the interferences found with body fluids when ultraviolet or fluorescence detection is used. An LC method is described for the separation of amino acids in blood or urine, using pre-column derivatization with phenylisothiocyanate (PITC), gradient elution and electrochemical detection. The use of electrochemical detection of PITC derivatives virtually eliminates interferences and enables the secondary amino acids to be measured. Examples are shown of normal urine and plasma and samples from patients with cystinuria and maple syrup urine disease.     

脲衍生物型手性固定相分离α－氨基酸对映体的研究

利用脲衍生物型手性色谱柱，作正相和反相液相色谱拆分Ｎ－３，５－二硝基苯甲酰化氨基酸丁酯衍生物。结果表明，正相色谱的手性分离效果比反相色谱要好得多，并且手性洗脱顺序完全相反。认为在固定相上对拆分起主要作用的可能是（Ｒ）－１－（α－萘基）乙胺部分的手性碳原子，而另外一个手性碳原子在拆分过程中起辅助作用。流动相在拆分过程中起着很重要的作用。     

Fast separation of amino acid phenylthiohydantion derivatives by HPLC on a non-porous stationary phase

Summary A new method is described for the separation of phenylthiohydantoin (PTH) derivatives of the 20 common amino acids. The analysis requires approximately 7 minutes and good resolution is obtained by RP-HPLC on columns packed with a non-porous stationary phase (Kovasil-C14; 33×4.6 mm). Gradient elution was chosen with eluents containing either sodium acetate/ acetic acid buffers (moderately acidic conditions) or a heptafluorobutyric acid modifier (strongly acidic eluent). A slightly different elution order of the PTH-amino acids was found in the two systems. Low detection limits (in the femtomol range) were achieved with simple commercial HPLC equipment. Presented at the Balaton Symposium on High Peformance Separtion Methods, Siófok, Hungary, september 1–3, 1999     

Liquid chromatographic profiles of individual compounds of technical toxaphene

The elution orders of 20 hexa- to nonachlorobornanes and five hexa- to octachlorocamphenes were studied with normal-phase silica and amino phase HPLC, reversed-phase HPLC, as well as gel-permeation chromatography (GPC). Twenty-one compounds of technical toxaphene (CTTs) are commercially available and four were isolated from environmental samples. Structure-activity relationships and chromatographic properties were deduced from the data sets derived on these LC systems. The retention on silica (low-resolution LC and HPLC) increased with the polarity of the CTTs. The elution order of CTTs on amino normal-phase HPLC was, for the most part, the same as on silica normal-phase HPLC. The degree of chlorination determined the elution order of CTTs on C18 RP-HPLC. CTTs eluted from medium-pressure GPC with decreasing molecular size. Chlorobornanes with dichloro substituents on the six-membered ring eluted after the chloroboranes without geminal chlorine atoms on secondary carbons, indicating that these congeners are larger. Altogether, the results increase the knowledge of complex substance class and may serve as a tool in order to gain further standard components.     

A fully automated amino acid analyzer using NBD-F as a fluorescent derivatization reagent

A fully automated amino acid analyzer using NBD-F (4- fluoro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole) as a fluorescent derivatization reagent was developed. The whole analytical process was fully automated from derivatization, injection to HPLC separation and quantitation. The derivatization reaction conditions were re-evaluated and optimized. Amino acids were derivatized by NBD-F for 40 min at room temperature in the borate buffer (pH 9.5). The derivatives were separated within 100 min and fluorometrically detected at 540 nm with excitation at 470 nm. The detection limits for amino acids were in the range of 2.8-20 fmol. The calibration curves were linear over the range of 20 fmol to 20 pmol on column with the correlation coefficients of 0.999. The coefficients of variation were less than 5% at 3 pmol injection for all amino acids. Amino acids in rat plasma were determined by the proposed HPLC method.