Determination of amino acids by gas chromatography using a wide bore capillary column

A procedure is described in which a wide bore capillary column is used as an alternative to the more traditional packed column for the quantitative analysis of amino acids as their N-heptafluorobutyryl isobutyl ester (HBB) derivatives. The column, installed in a gas chromatograph previously configured for use with a packed column, is shown to give good reproducibility by repeated determination of amino acid response factors (RSD values for all amino acids are below 3%). A number of problems, encountered during the use of this column, are discussed and suitable techniques to overcome them are reported.     

Enantiomeric Separation of N-Protected Non-Protein Amino Acid Esters by Chiral High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

We have found that high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of enantiomeric N-protected amino acid esters on a cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) chiral stationary phase column (Daicel Chiralcel OD) can be utilized as one of the procedures for determining the optical purities of non-protein amino acids. The methyl esters of the N-benzyloxycarbonyl (Z) derivatives of a number of non-protein amino acids showed excellent to good enantiomeric separations using hexane - 2-propanol as a mobile phase. There was a regularity in the elution order of enantiomers: the L-isomer had a shorter retention time than the D-isomer. We have also investigated the effect of the N-protecting groups and the ester groups on the enantiomeric separation. The Z, 4-methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl (Z(OMe)), and 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) derivatives gave exceptionally good resolutions. By contrast, the formyl and t-butoxycarbonyl (Boc) groups impaired the enantiomeric separation. Almost all the alkyl esters examined and the benzyl ester gave resolutions better than or of the same order as the methyl ester. The resolution of β-amino acids was worse than that of the corresponding α-amino acids.     

Quantification by selected ion monitoring of pipecolic acid, proline, gamma-aminobutyric acid and glycine in rat brain

A procedure for the simultaneous analysis of brain pipecolic acid, proline, gamma-aminobutyric acid and glycine--amino acids with potent inhibitory actions on the central nervous system--was developed. The identification and quantification of the amino acids were performed with a gas chromatographic--mass spectrometric--computer system using deuterium-labelled amino acids as the internal standards. After separation of the amino acids by high-performance liquid chromatography, the methyl ester heptafluorobutyryl derivatives were prepared. The lower limit of quantification for this method is at the picomole level. The usefulness of this chromatographic procedure has been demonstrated by measurement of trace amounts of pipecolic acid in rat brain.     

Determination of amino acids in the hepatic and brain tissue of the rat by gas chromatography

A procedure is described for the quantitative determination of amino acids in hepatic and brain tissue samples from the rat. Because the presence of certain matrix components in the tissue material led to interference with chromatographic analysis they were removed by a prechromatographic “clean-up” step. Quantitative analysis of amino acids, as their N-heptafluorobutyryl iso-butyl ester derivatives, was achieved by high resolution gas chromatography on an apolar fused silica open tubular column. Reproducibility data from the complete procedure are presented; coefficients of variation for arginine and histidine in hepatic tissue varied between 7.1 and 10.1% whereas those for most other amino acids were better than 5%, with a mean recovery of 90%.     

Fast analysis by gas-liquid chromatography. Perspective on the resolution of complex fatty acid compositions

Separation of fatty acids as methyl ester (FAME) derivatives has been carried out using short and highly polar capillary column developed for fast gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) applications. The GLC parameters have been optimized in order to achieve separation of FAME ranging from 4:0 (butyric acid) to 24:1 in less than 5 min. Milk fat that has by far the most complex fatty acid composition among edible fats and oils has been used to optimize the method. The volume of the oven has been reduced in order to allow for a heating rate of 120 degrees C/min and to rapidly cool-down to the initial temperature (50 degrees C) of the GLC program. The GLC conditions developed are not suitable to achieve separation of positional and geometrical isomers of octadecenoic acid but are useful to perform separation of major fatty acids in milk fat. The conditions developed could be used to analyze edible fats and oils or biological samples such as plasma or red blood cell lipids. The results confirmed that short and highly polar fast columns operating under optimal conditions could be used to separate the fatty acids in various matrices.     

Stereoselective synthesis of unnatural spiroisoxazolinoproline-based amino acids and derivatives

A route to spiroisoxazolinoproline-based amino acid derivatives is reported in which exo-methyleneprolinate 4 (tert-butyl ester) reacts as a dipolarophile with nitrile oxides to generate spiroisoxazolinoprolinates 7/10/11 in good yields (70-75%) and with ca. 1:4 cis:trans diastereoselectivity. tert-Butyl spiroisoxazolinoprolinates were separable by column chromatography and amenable to scale-up leading to single diastereoisomers of N-Boc and N-Fmoc protected spiroisoxazolinoproline amino acids.     

Two-Step Derivatization of Amino Acids for Stable-Isotope Dilution GC–MS Analysis: Long-Term Stability of Methyl Ester-Pentafluoropropionic Derivatives in Toluene Extracts

Analysis of amino acids by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) requires at least one derivatization step to enable solubility in GC–MS-compatible water-immiscible organic solvents such as toluene, to make them volatile to introduce into the gas chromatograph and thermally stable enough for separation in the GC column and introduction into the ion-source, and finally to increase their ionization by increasing their electronegativity using F-rich reagents. In this work we investigated the long-term stability of the methyl esters pentafluoropropionic (Me-PFP) derivatives of 21 urinary amino acids prepared by a two-step derivatization procedure and extraction by toluene. In situ prepared trideuteromethyl ester pentafluoropropionic derivatives were used as internal standards. GC–MS analysis (injection of 1 µL aliquots and quantification by selected-ion monitoring of specific mass fragments) was performed on days 1, 2, 8, and 15. Measured peak areas and calculated peak area ratios were used to evaluate the stability of the derivatives of endogenous amino acids and their internal standards, as well as the precision and the accuracy of the method. All analyses were performed under routine conditions. Me-PFP derivatives of endogenous amino acids and their stable-isotope labelled analogs were stable in toluene for 14 days. The peak area values of the derivatives of most amino acids and their internal standards were slightly higher on days 8 and 15 compared to days 1 and 2, yet the peak area ratio values of endogenous amino acids to their internal standards did not change. Our study indicates that Me-PFP derivatives of amino acids from human urine samples can easily be prepared, are stable at least for 14 days in the extraction solvent toluene, and allow for precise and accurate quantitative measurements by GC–MS using in situ prepared deuterium-labelled methyl ester as internal standard.     

Determination of Enantiomeric Purity and Absolute Configuration of β-Lactams by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography on Chiral Columns

Enantiomers of β-lactams bearing aryl, furyl or styryl substituents in the 4-position were chromatographically separated by means of high-performance liquid chromatography on chiral column packed with amino acid-derived chiral stationary phase. Separation factors are generally modest. To improve further the resolution of enantiomers, the rings of these β-lactams were opened with octanol in acidic conditions and converted into N-3,5- dinitrobenzoyl ester derivatives of the resulting β-amino acids. Enantiomers of these derivatives are efficiently separated on an amide-derived chiral stationary phase. The chromatographic separations enable accurate determination of optical purity of the chiral β- lactams, prepared from homochiral ester enolate-imine condensation. The absolute configuration of the major enantiomer of the β-amino acid derivatives was determined from elution order on a chiral column.     

Solid-phase synthesis of 1-substituted tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives employing BOC-protected tetrahydroisoquinoline carboxylic acids

Compounds containing the tetrahydroisoquinoline ring system were prepared using solid-supported ester derivatives on a nucleophile-sensitive resin, starting from the corresponding BOC-protected amino acids. The key heterocyclic intermediates were obtained from the Pictet-Spengler reaction between ethyl glyoxylate or methyl 4-formylbenzoate and dopamine or 3-hydroxyphenethylamine. After the resulting amino esters were converted to the BOC derivatives, the phenolic hydroxyl groups were alkylated with a series of alkyl halides to afford the corresponding ethers. Ester hydrolysis afforded the BOC-protected tetrahydroisoquinoline carboxylic acid scaffolds, which were then attached to (4-hydroxyphenyl)sulfide resin (Marshall linker) as the corresponding ester. The BOC group was removed under acidic conditions, and the resulting support-bound amine hydrochlorides were converted to the corresponding amides using a set of carboxylic acids. The support-bound amides were liberated with amines to produce the desired tetrahydroisoquinoline carboxamides. Optimization of the resin loading conditions is described in addition to the identification of impurities observed during the development of the optimum conditions for solid-phase synthesis.     

Oxidation,With Chiral Retention,of Benzyloxycarbonyl Threonine Methyl Ester

A simple oxydative procedure converted Z-L-threonine methyl ester into the corresponding (2S)-β-keto ester: Starting material for the synthesis of labelled threonine derivatives.     

Seperation of protein amino acids as their N(O)-Acyl alkyl ester derivatives on glass capillary columns

A comparison of the elution properties of the major protein amino acids as their N(O)-acyl alkyl ester derivatives (O-n-propyl, -n-butyl, -isopentyl; N(O)-trifluoroacetyl, -heptafluorobutyryl) on open-tubular glass capillary columns coated with SE-30, OV-17, OV-210 and EGA is described. A single-column separation to the baseline of the protein amino acids as their N(O)-heptafluorobutyryl n-butyl ester derivatives in less than 35 min was obtained on the SE-30 column. OV-210 columns have properties complementary to those of SE-30 columns and can be used as an aid to compound identification from retention time data. Separations of the amino acids from beer and dialysate from uremic patients are used to illustrate the practical posibilities of the method.     

Diethylhydrogensilyl-cyclic diethylsilylene derivatives in gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of prostanoids. III. F alpha-prostaglandins and thromboxane B2 derivatives

The gas chromatographic (GC) and GC-mass spectrometric properties of the diethylhydrogensilyl-cyclic diethylsilylene (DEHS-DES) derivatives of prostaglandin (PG) F1 alpha methyl ester, PGF2 alpha methyl ester, 6-keto-PGF1 alpha methyl ester-alkyloxime and thromboxane (TX) B2 methyl ester-alkyloxime and the DES derivative of 13,14-dihydro-15-keto-PGF2 alpha methyl ester-alkyloxime were studied. When the ketonic PGs and TXB2 were converted into their methyloxime derivatives, the methylene unit values of these five prostanoid derivatives were slightly greater than those of the corresponding dimethylethylsilyl ether derivatives. When the ketonic PGs were converted into their corresponding ethyloxime derivatives, baseline separation was achieved in 20 min by use of a methylsilicone cross-linked fused-silica capillary column. The mass spectra of these derivatives were characterized by the ion at m/z 157 for F alpha prostaglandins and m/z 269 for TXB2. The major fragmentations were directed by the DES group, and other fragmentations common to the prostanoid derivatives were losses of an ethyl radical at the silicon atom, C5H11 hydrocarbon fragment, diethylhydrogensilanol and C15-C20 hydrocarbon fragment. The mass fragmentations of these prostanoid derivatives are briefly discussed. GC with high-resolution selected-ion monitoring was carried out for the TXB2 derivative at a resolution of 8000 by monitoring the ion at m/z 269.1573. A 25-pg amount of this derivative showed a well shaped doublet with a signal-to-noise ratio of more than 300:1.     

Enantiomer separation of amino acids as their N-alkyloxycarbonyl alkylamide derivatives by chiral phase capillary GC

The enantiomers of amino acids were first converted into N-alkyloxycarbonyl 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl esters, and then into N-alkyloxycarbonyl alkylamides by nucleophilic substitution of the ester group with amines. The first reaction proceeds instantaneously, while the second substitution occurs smoothly with n-propylamine and isobutylamine. The final derivatives were produced for separation on a capillary column coated with Chirasil-Val by GC. Pro, which is difficult to separate completely as its N-perfluoroacyl alkyl ester derivative, showed complete separation of the enantiomeric pair. All amino acids examined in this study showed an increased separation factor.     

Capillary gas chromatographic analysis of amino acids in blood and protein hydrolysates as tert.-butyldimethylsilyl derivatives

A method is given for a one-step derivatization and gas chromatography of amino acids in blood and protein hydrolysates. Blood samples are partially purified by solvent extraction. Protein hydrolysates are neutralized with a triethylamine solution. Then tert.-butyldimethylsilyl derivatives of the amino acids are prepared in a one-step procedure and separated on a 30-m fused-silica SE-30 capillary column. Except for tryptophan and cystine, amino acids are eluted within 30 min. Amino acids are derivatized more rapidly than their corresponding trimethylsilyl derivatives and do not degrade on the long fused-silica columns.     

Determination of N-acetyl-S-(N-alkylthiocarbamoyl)-L-cysteine, a principal metabolite of alkyl isothiocyanates, in rat urine

A simple and rapid analytical procedure is described for N-acetyl-S-(N-alkylthiocarbamoyl)-L-cysteine (alkyl = benzyl, allyl, methyl, ethyl or n-butyl), a mercapturic acid with an unstable dithiocarbamic acid ester structure, which is found in rat urine as the principal metabolite of the corresponding alkyl isothiocyanate. Because such mercapturic acids decompose at pH values greater than 5 to N-acetylcysteine and alkyl isothiocyanate, the free isothiocyanate is converted with n-butylamine into the corresponding disubstituted thiourea, and, after extraction, measured by high-performance liquid chromatography using an ultraviolet detector. The recovery is ca. 100% and the precision is very good. The lower limit of detection is ca. 0.5 microgram of thiourea. The 24-h renal excretion of these mercapturic acids was determined in rats after administration of benzyl, allyl, methyl, ethyl or n-butyl isothiocyanate.     

Gas chromatographic quantification of amino acid enantiomers in food matrices by their N(O,S)-ethoxycarbonyl heptafluorobutyl ester derivatives

Several amino acid enantiomer derivatives were prepared with different chloroformates and analysed by gas chromatography (GC) on a Chirasil-L-Val GC column, at a temperature below 200 degrees C. Among them the N(O,S)-ethoxycarbonyl heptafluorobutyl esters presented the best compromise between short retention times, high yield responses and good resolution for almost all the tested amino acids. These derivatives proved to be suited for quantification of amino acids in aqueous media, with L-p-chlorophenylalanine as internal standard. The developed procedure was applied to several food samples for determination of their free amino acid profiles.     

Optimisation of derivatisation procedures for the determination of delta13C values of amino acids by gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry

Compound-specific stable carbon isotope analysis of amino acids by gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS) is a highly selective and sensitive method for probing the biosynthetic/diagenetic pathways, pool size and turnover rates of proteins, previously intractable to bulk isotope analyses. However, amino acids are polyfunctional, non-volatile compounds which require derivatisation prior to GC analysis. While a wide range of derivatives exist for the GC analysis of amino acids only a handful have been utilised for their GC/C/IRMS analysis. Significantly, none of those derivatives currently employed appear completely satisfactory and a thorough assessment of their relative utility is lacking. Seven derivatives (three previously reported and four novel) for obtaining delta(13)C values of amino acids via GC/C/IRMS analysis were compared. More specifically, standard mixtures of 15 protein amino acids were converted into N-acetylmethyl (NACME) esters, N-acetyl n-propyl (NANP) esters, N-acetyl i-propyl (NAIP) esters, N-trifluoroacetyl-i-propyl (TFA-IP) esters, N-pivaloyl methyl (NPME) esters, N-pivaloyl n-propyl (NPNP) esters and N-pivaloyl i-propyl (NPIP) esters. Each derivative was assessed with respect to its applicability to carbon isotope determinations of all the common alpha-amino acids, reaction yield, chromatographic resolution, stability, analyte-to-derivative carbon ratio, kinetic isotope effects and errors associated with their carbon isotope determinations. The NACME derivative was concluded to be the preferred derivative mainly due to the highest analyte-to-derivative carbon ratio being achieved, resulting in the lowest analytical errors for amino acid delta(13)C value determinations, ranging from +/-0.6 per thousand for phenylalanine, leucine and isoleucine to +/-1.1 per thousand for serine and glycine.     

2，6-二-O-乙氧乙基-3-O-三氟乙酰基-β-环糊精气相色谱手性固定相的制备及应用

将β-环糊精的2,6-位引入乙氧乙基,3-位引入三氟乙酰基,合成了新的环糊精衍生物2,6-二-O-乙氧乙基-3-O-三氟乙酰基-β-环糊精,并采用静态法涂渍毛细管气相色谱柱,考察了毛细管柱的柱性能和分离性能。结果表明,该固定相对G rob试剂、苯的二取代位置异构体氯甲苯、硝基甲苯和溴甲苯以及10种手性化合物如α-取代丙酸酯化合物、1-(2′-硝基苯基)-乙醇、α-甲基-对氯苯乙腈和丙炔醇酮乙酸酯等具有良好的分离效果。其中,对α-甲磺酰基丙酸酯对映体的拆分效果最好;对α-取代丙酸的甲酯衍生物的分离效果优于乙酯衍生物;对α-羟基取代丙酸酯的分离效果优于α-卤代丙酸酯。     

Rapid and sensitive on-line precolumn purification and high-performance liquid chromatographic assay for disulfiram and its metabolites

The disulfiram (Antabus) metabolites diethyldithiocarbamate, diethyldithiocarbamate methyl ester, carbon disulphide and bis(diethyldithiocarbamato) copper complex were quantitatively analysed from directly injected heparin plasma by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The highly volatile metabolite, carbon disulphide, was converted to the methyl ester of dimethyldithiocarbamate before chromatography. The analytical procedure is simple and does not require sample preparation or addition of an internal standard, and the compounds are eluted from the columns in 15 min. After automated on-line precolumn enrichment, the parent compound and biotransformation products could be back-flushed and chromatographed on an ordinary reversed-phase column. The influence of plasma protein binding on the constituents in the precolumn enrichment step was also investigated. Dissociation and partition of constituents from plasma proteins gave a complete retardation on the precolumn. The time courses of diethyldithiocarbamate and its methyl ester were followed in patients receiving therapeutic doses of disulfiram.     

Synthetic transformations of higher terpenoids. XXI.* Preparation of phlomisoic acid and its <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-containing derivatives

A method for preparing 15,16-epoxylabda-8(9),13(16),14-trien-18-oic (phlomisoic) acid was proposed. Its structure was confirmed by an XSA. N-containing derivatives of phlomisoic acid that contained amines, hydrazides, and methyl esters of amino acids on the C-18 atom in addition to (2-oxo-2-aminoacetyl)-substituted derivatives of the C-16 methyl ester of phlomisoic acid were prepared.