Liquid chromatographic determination of polyamines in human urine based on intramolecular excimer-forming fluorescence derivatization using 4-(1-pyrene)butanoyl chloride

A liquid chromatographic method for highly sensitive and selective fluorometric determination of polyamines (putrescine, cadaverine, spermidine and spermine) in human urine is described. This method is based on an intramolecular excimer-forming fluorescence derivatization with a pyrene reagent, 4-(1-pyrene)butanoyl chloride (PBC), followed by reversed-phase liquid chromatography. The method offers higher sensitivity for determination of spermidine and spermine than previously reported method utilizing 4-(1-pyrene)butyric acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ester as a derivatization reagent. Samples containing free polyamines in diluted human urine were directly derivatized with PBC and separated on an octyl column. The derivatives were detected at excitation 345 and emission 475 nm wavelengths. For determination of total polyamine content, the conjugated polyamines were first hydrolyzed in 4 M HCl. The detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio = 3) for polyamines in urine were 1.1-3.4 pmol/mL. At optimized derivatization and chromatographic conditions, interferences such as biogenic monoamines gave no peaks or the peaks did not interfere with the peaks of polyamine derivatives. In conclusion, the present derivatization method allows direct determination of polyamines in human urine samples without the need for sample clean-up procedures.     

An easy-to-use excimer fluorescence derivatization reagent, 2-chloro-4-methoxy-6-(4-(pyren-4-yl)butoxy)-1,3,5-triazine,for use in the highly sensitive and selective liquid chromatography analysis of histamine in Japanese soy sauces

In this study, a novel pre-column excimer fluorescence derivatization reagent, 2-chloro-4-methoxy-6-(4-(pyren-4-yl)butoxy)-1,3,5-triazine (CMPT), was developed for polyamines, specifically histamine. By CMPT derivatization, the polyamines, histamine and tyramine were converted to polypyrene derivatives, and emitted intra-molecular excimer fluorescence at 475 nm. This could clearly be distinguished from the normal fluorescence emitted from reagent blanks at 375 nm. Unlike conventional excimer fluorescence derivatization reagents, CMPT is chemically stable and its reactivity sustained over at least 36 days even in solution state. We successfully applied this reagent to the sensitive and selective analysis of histamine in different kinds of Japanese commercial soy sauces. The detection and quantification limits of histamine were 15 and 50 μg L⁻¹, respectively, equating to 1.35 pmol and 4.5 pmol for a 6 μL injection. This sensitivity helped the direct analysis of soy sauce samples only treated by one-step liquid–liquid extraction without concentration. The histamine levels of commercial soy sauce samples (koikuchi, usukuchi and saishikomi) investigated were 1.24–768.5 mg L⁻¹.     

Liquid chromatographic determination of nitroaromatics in water following solid phase extraction,pre-column reduction and derivatization

Summary A selective and sensitive method for determination of nitroaromatics is described. The analytes were reduced to corresponding primary amines with iron powder and then derivatized with fluram in citrate buffer to form pyrrolinones. The highly fluorescent pyrrolinones were isolated and preconcentrated by octadecylsilane solid phase extraction cartridge followed by reversed-phase, high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis. Detection was at 395–495 nm. Various aspects such as the reduction process, derivatization, solid phase extraction and chromatographic separation were optimized. Analysis time was relatively short due to a special design for successive reduction and preconcentration. Limits of detection for 3-nitrophenol, nitrobenzene, 4 and 2-nitrotoluene were less than 60, 12, 60 and 280 ng L^–1 respectively.     

Liquid chromatographic fluorescence determination of amino acids in plasma and urine after derivatization with phanquinone

Phanquinone (4,7-phenanthroline-5,6-dione) has been investigated as a pre-column derivatization fluorogenic reagent for liquid chromatographic determination of primary amino acids in biological samples. The derivatization reaction was carried out at 68 degrees C both in the presence of aqueous phosphate buffer (pH 8) for 30 min and without buffer for 60 min to allow the determination of basic amino acids (Orn, Lys, Arg). The resulting derivatives were separated under reversed-phase HPLC and detected at lambda(em) = 460 nm with lambda(ex) = 400 nm. The proposed method was validated and applied to the determination of a variety of amino acids directly in urine and after deproteinization with 5-sulfosalicylic acid in plasma samples. The detection and quantitation limits were found in the range 10-450 and 35-1400 fmol, respectively.     

Liquid chromatographic determination of dicarboxylic acids based on intramolecular excimer-forming fluorescence derivatization

A highly sensitive and selective fluorimetric determination method for dicarboxylic acids (C5-C12) has been developed. This method is based on an intramolecular excimer-forming fluorescence derivatization with a pyrene reagent, 4-(1-pyrene)butyric acid hydrazide (PBH), followed by reversed-phase liquid chromatography (LC). The carboxylic acids were converted to the corresponding dipyrene-labeled derivatives by reaction with PBH in the presence of 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide. The derivatives afforded intramolecular excimer fluorescence (450-550 nm) which can clearly be discriminated from the normal fluorescence (370-420 nm) emitted from PBH and monopyrene-labeled derivatives of monocarboxylic acids. The structures of the derivatives and the emission of excimer fluorescence were studied by LC with mass spectrometry and with spectrofluorimetry, respectively. The PBH derivatives of the carboxylic acids could be separated by reversed-phase LC on an ODS column with isocratic elution. The detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio = 3) were 1.3 fmol to undetectable for a 20-microl injection.     

HPLC fluorescence determination of nitrites in water using precolumn derivatization with 4-methyl-7-aminocoumarin

Summary A rapid, simple, and sensitive method is described for determination of nitrites in water. Nitrite (NO₂–) ions react with coumarin 120^® (4-methyl-7-aminocoumarin) in sulfuric acid medium to give the corresponding 7-diazo compound. After hydrolysis, this latter yields (95%) the highly fluorescent 4-methyl-7-hydroxycoumarin (4-methylumbelliferone) which is fluorimetrically detected at 380 nm after excitation at 325 nm.In order to avoid interference from both excess coumarin 120^® and the trace amounts of 4-methylumbelliferone which occurs in coumarin 120^® as an impurity, use of HPLC is mandatory; a satisfactory separation is obtained on a cyano stationary phase with apolar hexane-isopropanol (955, v/v) as eluent. Under these conditions, linearity of response is obtained from 1 to 30 g.L^–1 of NO₂–; the limit of detection is 0.5 g.L^–1. The repeatability and reproducibility, expressed as RSD %, are 2.5 and 4.7 % respectively, for n=6 and 5 g.L^–, analytical characteristics which demonstrate the reliability of the proposed method.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic method for determination of amino acids by precolumn derivatization with 4-chloro-3,5-dinitrobenzotrifluoride

This work presents an high-performance liquid chromatography method for the determination of amino acids after precolumn derivatization with 4-chloro-3,5-dinitrobenzotrifluoride (CNBF) which can readily react with both primary and secondary amines. The precolumn derivatization conditions, including the CNBF concentration, reaction pH, temperature and reaction time were investigated for method optimization. In pH 9.0 borate buffer, the reaction of amino acids with CNBF was carried out at 60 °C for 30 min, the optimized concentration of CNBF was 70 mmol L⁻¹ and the molar ratio of amino acids to CNBF was 1:5.25. The chromatographic separation of 19 amino acids derivatives was performed on a Kromasil ODS C₁₈ column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) with good reproducibility, and ultraviolet detection was applied at 260 nm. The mobile phase was a mixture of phase A (acetonitrile) and phase B (acetate buffer, acetonitrile, triethylamine; 82.8:17:0.2, pH 4.9), and the flow rate was 0.4 mL min⁻¹. The separation of all the labeled amino acids was achieved within 45 min at room temperature by gradient elution mode. The method linearity, calculated for each amino acid, had a correlation coefficient higher than 0.9979, in concentrations ranging from 9.60 to 3330.00 μmol L⁻¹. The detection limits of amino acids were 2.40-6.50 μmol L⁻¹, at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The proposed method was applied for the determination of amino acids in beer with recoveries of 97.0-103.9% and relative standard deviations of 2.62-4.22%, respectively. This method showed good accuracy and repeatability that can be used for the quantification of amino acids in real samples.     

Simple HPLC determination of colistin in medicated feeds by pre-column derivatization and fluorescence detection

Summary A simple and sensitive HPLC method was developed for the determination of colistin antibiotic in feeds employing pre-column derivatization and fluorescence detection. Extraction of colistin in feeds was by sonication and shaking with 0.1 M HCl. Pre-column derivatization was with phthaldialdehyde and 2-mercaptoethanol (ME) in borate buffer (pH 10.5) to obtain a fluorescent derivative. Elution of the derivative onto an Ultracarb 5 μm ODS column was by using acetonitrile—ultrapure water (75∶25). Detection was by spectrofluorimetry at 340 nm (excitation wavelength) and 440 nm (emission wavelength). Total elution time was <20 min. The applicability of the validated method was tested by analyzing commercial medicated feeds without any interference from the matrix.     

Liquid chromatography-hydride generation-atomic fluorescence spectrometry hybridation for antimony speciation in environmental samples

Atomic fluorescence spectrometry was used as an element-specific detector in hybridation with liquid chromatography (LC) and hydride generation for the speciation of Sb(III), Sb(V) and trimethylantimony dichloride (TMSbCl₂). The three species were poorly resolved in a single chromatogram but good results were obtained by anion-exchange chromatography, using a mobile phase with 20 mM EDTA and 8 mM hydrogenphthalate to separate Sb(III) and Sb(V) and 1 mM carbonate at pH 10 to separate Sb(V) and TMSbCl₂. Calibration graphs were linear between 2 and 100 μg l⁻¹. Detection limits were 0.9, 0.5 and 0.7 μg l⁻¹ for Sb(III), Sb(V) and TMSbCl₂, respectively. The method was applied to the speciation of antimony in environmental samples.     

Online photocatalytic device for highly selective pre-column fluorescence derivatization of 5-hydroxyindoles with benzylamine

A fluorimetric liquid chromatographic method for the determination of 5-hydroxyindoles based on the benzylamine derivatization process mediated through an online photocatalytic oxidation has been developed. In this study, we used a photocatalytic column comprising tefzel tubing packed with TiO₂-coated glass beads, as a pre-column derivatization reactor. The fluorescence derivatization of 5-hydroxyindoles using benzylamine proceeded during their passage through the reaction column under near-UV irradiation. The 5-hydroxyindole derivatives were separated continuously on a reversed-phase liquid chromatography within 50 min, using 100 mM acetate buffer (pH 4.6)-acetonitrile (72:28, v/v; isocratic elution) containing 3 mM sodium octanesulfonate; the samples were detected fluorimetrically at 465 nm upon excitation at 350 nm. The detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio = 3) of the 5-hydroxyindoles were in the range from 160 to 360 fmol per 5 μL injection. We have applied this method, which requires minimal sample pre-treatment, to the determination of 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid in human urine.     

Liquid chromatographic determination of aniline and derivatives in environmental waters at nanogram per litre levels using fluorescamine pre-column derivatization

Summary Fluorescamine (fluram) has been used as a fluorogenic compound for pre-column derivatization of aniline and some derivatives. Anilines were derivatized with fluram in citrate buffer media (pH 5.5) to form pyrrolinones. The highly fluorescence pyrrolinones were isolated and pre-concentrated by solid phase extraction. A reversed phase, Spherisorb RP-8 column and tetrahydrofuran: water:formic acid (42:56:2) mobile phase was used for separation. Detection method was by a sensitive fluorimetric method and quantitation was at 395 and 495 nm. The various parameters such as reaction conditions between anilines and fluram, solid phase extraction and chromatographic separation were optimized. Calibrations were linear over the range considered with excellent correlation coefficients (r>0.999). Relative standard deviations are less than 2.5 % and detection limits for aniline,p-toluidine, 4-chloroaniline and 4-bromoaniline were 6, 30, 6 and 8 ng L⁻¹, respectively. This method has been used successfully for the determination of anilines in environmental waters.     

HPLC of amino acids and oligopeptides by pre-column fluorescence derivatization with N-hydroxysuccinimidyl-α-(9-phenanthrene)-acetate

Summary A sensitive LC method for the detection of amino acids and oligopeptides with pre-column fluorescence derivatization has been developed. Glycine, glycylglycine, triglycine, glutathione, glutamic acid, and cysteine were separated on a reversed-phase C₁₈ column with methanol-water-triethylamine eluent, derivatization and chromatographic conditions were optimized. The six derivatives were eluted in 20 min with good reproducibility. The relative standard derviations (n=6) at an analytical concentration of 2×10⁻⁶ M are <5%. Detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio=3) for the six derivatives are 23–68 fmol.     

Liquid chromatographic determination of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in environmental river water samples

Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have attracted significant interest from researchers, policymakers, and water treatment facilities. This is because PFAS are highly persistent in the environment and tend to be bio-accumulative thus causing adverse effects on terrestrial and aquatic life. Therefore, there is a need for simpler and fast methods for the determination of PFAS in water sources. This work aims at the application of dispersive magnetic solid-phase extraction (DMSPE) for the enrichment of PFAS in various surface water samples. Magnetic Fe₃O₄@MIL-101 (Cr) was used as an adsorbent in MSPE. Fe₃O₄@MIL-101(Cr) was used for the first time for the preconcentration and extraction of PFAS in various river water samples. The concentrations of target analytes in water samples were determined using high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis. The combination of optimized DMSPE with HPLC-DAD and UHPLC-MS/MS provided wide linear range (1–5000 ng/L and 0.05–2000 ng/L, low limits of detection (0.3–0.66 ng/L and 0.011–0.04 ng/L) and limits of quantification (1.0–2.2 ng/L and 0.04–0.12 ng/L). Moreover, acceptable intraday and interday precision based on the relative standard deviation (RSD) lower than 5% were obtained. The developed method showed remarkable practicability for the analysis of ultra-trace PFAS in water samples.     

Supercritical fluid extraction with in situ chiral derivatization for the enantiospecific determination of ibuprofen in urine samples

In situ chiral derivatization was used to obtain diastereomeric amides of ibuprofen for their subsequent extraction with supercritical carbon dioxide. For this purpose, ibuprofen [racemic 2-(4-isobutylphenyl)propionic acids] was previously extracted on a C-18 SPE device and quantitatively transferred into the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) vessel for derivatization and extraction with (R)-1-(naphthen-1-yl)ethylamine as chiral derivatizing base, and a mixture of 1-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylcarbodiimide and 1-hydroxybenzotriazole as reagents, in order to obtain and extract the corresponding diastereoisomeric amides, which were subsequently determined by liquid chromatography. The influence of different extraction and derivatization variables (pressure, temperature, extraction time in the static and dynamic extraction modes, and amount of chiral base) on the extraction efficiency was studied. Spiked and native urine samples containing ibuprofen were used to demonstrate the application of this method. The absolute recovery, selectivity, precision and accuracy of the combined solid-phase extraction (SPE)/SFE approach were compared to those provided by conventional liquid–liquid extraction. The results indicated that SFE seems to be an effective choice for in situ derivatization since analysis times and solvent consumption were dramatically reduced.     

Determination of trans-fatty acids in food samples based on the precolumn fluorescence derivatization by high performance liquid chromatography

Trans-fatty acids are unsaturated fatty acids that are considered to have health risks. 1,3,5,7-Tetramethyl-8-butyrethylenediamine-difluoroboradiaza-s-indacene is a highly sensitive fluorescent labeling reagent for carboxylic acids developed by our lab. In this study, using this precolumn fluorescent derivatization reagent, a rapid and accurate high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection method was developed for the determination of two trans-fatty acids in food samples. Under the optimized derivative conditions, two trans-fatty acids were tagged with the fluorescent labeling reagent in the presence of 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethyl-aminopropyl) carbodiimide at 25°C for 30 min. Then, the baseline separation of trans- and cis-fatty acids and their saturated fatty acid with similar structures was achieved with less interference using a reversed-phased C₁₈ column with isocratic elution in 14 min. With fluorescence detection at λ_ex/λ_em = 490 /510 nm, the linear range of the TFAs was 1.0-200 nM with low detection limits in the range of 0.1–0.2 nM (signal-to-noise ratio = 3). In addition, the proposed approach was successfully applied for the detection of trans-fatty acids in food samples, and the recoveries using this method ranged from 96.02 to 109.22% with low relative standard deviations of 1.2–4.3% (n = 6).     

Liquid chromatographic determination of aliphatic amines in water using solid support assisted derivatization with 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate

Summary A simple and sensitive method has been developed for the liquid chromatographic determination of short-chain aliphatic amines in water. Analytes are retained in solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges, and then derivatized by drawing an aliquot of the fluorogeneic reagent 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate (FMOC) through the cartridges. After a certain reaction time the derivatives formed are desorbed with acetonitrile. The collected extracts are then chromatographed on a LiChrospher 100 RP₁₈ 125 mm×4 mm i.d., 5 μm, column using an acetonitrile-water gradient. The influence of experimental conditions (SPE material, volume of sample, concentration of FMOC, time of reaction and pH) has been investigated. Optimal results have been obtained with C₁₈ SPE cartridges using a sample volume of 5.0 mL. For derivatization, 0.25 mL aliquots of 25 mM FMOC have been used, the reaction time being only 2 min. The method has been applied to the quantification of several aliphatic amines: methylamine, ethylamine, dimethylamine,n-butylamine,n-pentylamine andn-hexylamine. Under the proposed conditions the percentages of analytes retained plus derivatized were of about 54–107% compared to those obtained with direct solution derivatization. The method provided good reproducibility, linearity and accuracy within the 0.050–1.0 mg L⁻¹ concentration range. The limits of detection were in the 0.25–5.0 μg L⁻¹ range. The utility of the described approach has been tested by analysing tap water, river water and industrial waste water.     

Simultaneous determination of mycophenolic acid and valproic acid based on derivatization by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

A reliable and validated reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method using fluorescence detection is reported for the simultaneous quantitation of mycophenolic acid (MPA) and valproic acid (VPA) in human plasma. The method is based on the pre-column derivatization of valproic acid with 4-bromomethyl-6, 7-dimethoxycoumarin (BrMMC) and online solvatochromism of MPA by pH adjustment. The linear calibration range was 0.50-30 microg/mL for MPA and 5.00-150 microg/mL for VPA. The relative standard deviations of the method of intra- and inter-day analyses (n = 6) were below 6.5 and 6.7% for MPA, and 5.8 and 6.3% for VPA, respectively. Dichloromethane was used for the simultaneous extraction of MPA and VPA from acidified plasma. This reliable method can be applied in the analysis of MPA and VPA in human plasma using only a small volume (100 microL).     

Residue determination of glyphosate in environmental water samples with high-performance liquid chromatography and UV detection after derivatization with 4-chloro-3,5-dinitrobenzotrifluoride

A pre-column derivatization high-performance liquid chromatographic method for glyphosate analysis has been developed. Derivatization of glyphosate was performed with 4-chloro-3,5-dinitrobenzotrifluoride (CNBF). In pH 9.5 H₃BO₃-Na₂B₄O₇ media, the reaction of glyphosate with CNBF completed at 60 °C for 30 min. The labeled glyphosate was separated on a Kromasil C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) at room temperature and UV detection was applied at 360 nm. The separation of labeled glyphosate was achieved within 15 min by gradient elution mode. Compared to other pre-column derivatization, this derivatization was performed more mildly, the derivative was more stable, and the detection limits of a few reagents were higher than CNBF, except 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate (FMOC-Cl) using fluorescence and mass spectrometry, however, this reagent avoid to be removed after derivatization like FMOC-Cl. The detection limit of glyphosate was 0.009 mg L⁻¹ (S/N = 3) without preconcentration and reach MRL, which is set at the level of 0.1 mg L⁻¹ in China. The method linearity correlation coefficient was 0.9999, in concentrations ranging from 0.3 to 48.5 mg L⁻¹. The proposed method has been applied to the quantitative determination of glyphosate in environmental water with recoveries of 91.80-100.20% and R.S.D. of 2.27-6.80, depending on the sample investigated.     

Liquid chromatographic determination of aniline in table-top sweeteners based on pre-column derivatization with 1,2-naphthoquinone-4-sulfonate

A liquid chromatographic method for the determination of aniline in cyclamate sweeteners based on a pre-column derivatization with 1,2-naphthoquinone-4-sulfonate (NQS) is proposed. Aniline traces were extracted from the cyclamate samples using dichloromethane. After solvent evaporation, the dry residue was derivatized with NQS at pH 9.5 and 85 degrees C for 1 min. The aniline derivative, which was extracted from the reacting mixture, was redissolved in the eluent solution and injected into the chromatographic system. The separation of aniline derivative from other amine impurities was carried out in a C18 column using a 2% acetic acid-methanol (40:60, v/v) mobile phase. Results from the analysis of aniline in the sweetener samples with the proposed method were compared with those from the standard method. A good concordance between the two methods was observed.     

A pre-column derivatization high-performance liquid chromatography method for simultaneous determination of short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids in a fecal sample

Short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids have plentiful biological functions, which play a crucial role in the diagnosis and therapy of many diseases. Herein, a new method for simultaneous quantifying 17 short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids with high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with an ultraviolet detector was developed and the pre-column derivatization by indole-3-acetic acid hydrazide was performed to improve the separation and detection. The conditions of the derivatization reaction were systematically investigated. Subsequently, the method was validated and the results showed a satisfactory linearity (linear regression coefficients > 0.9969), the limit of detection (4.0×10⁻³–1.9×10⁻² μmol/L), precision (0.9%–7.3% for intra-day and 2.0%–9.8% for inter-day), recovery (90.0%–109.1% with relative standard deviation <7.7%) and stability (0.1%–3.3% for standard solution and 0.2%–3.9% for fecal sample). Finally, the established method was successfully applied to quantify short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids in the feces of healthy control and diabetic rats. Eleven kinds of short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids were detected and six of them showed a significant difference between the control group and the model group.