Ultra-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of amino acids in protein hydrolysates using an automated pre-column derivatisation method

In the present study, the changeover from the Pico.Tag HPLC method to the AccQ.Tag(ultra) UPLC method for the analysis of amino acids in casein and bovine serum albumine hydrolysates is described. The total chromatographic run time of the AccQ.Tag(ultra) UPLC method was only 40% of the time required for the Pico.Tag HPLC method. Quantitative results of both methods for casein and bovine serum albumine hydrolysates compared fairly well. The derivatisation protocol for the formation of AQC derivatives of amino acids was automated using a Gilson Model 215 liquid handler. Comparison of the manual derivatisation protocol with the automated protocol showed lower coefficients of variation for the latter. Combination of the AccQ.Tag(ultra) UPLC method and automated derivatisation resulted in improved throughput compared to the Pico.Tag HPLC method.