Chiral separation of amide conjugates of jasmonic acid by liquid chromatography

Summary Synthetic amide conjugates of (−)-jasmonic acid and its (+)-enantiomer were resolved by means of chiral liquid chromatography. The diastereomeric pairs prepared by chemical reaction of (±)-jasmonic acid with a series of (S)- or (R)-amino acids and with some (S)-amino acid alcohols were completely separated on Chiralpak AS using a mixture of n-hexane/2-propanal as mobile phase. The retention data indicate that the (−)-jasmonic acid conjugates eluted faster than those of the (+)-enantiomer, independent on the configuration of the bound amino acid. Likewise, enantiomeric derivatives of (±)-jasmonic acid and non-chiral amino acids were completely separated on the chiral stationary phase and showed the same elution sequence. The resolution factors,Rs, were found to range between 1.13 and 6.64. The separated compounds were chiropatically analyzed by measurement of the circular dichroism. Presented at the 21^st ISC held in Stuttgart, Germany, 15^th–20^th September, 1996     

Separation of Di-dansyl amino acids by MEKC with a co-surfactant

Summary A method has been developed for qualitative determination, in some natural products, of those amino acids which form di-dansyl derivatives. The capillary electrophoresis methods so far developed have not completely solved the problem of separation of di-dansyl amino acids. These amino acids are highly non-polar, because they contain two dansyl groups linked to the amino acid part of the molecule, and are poorly separated from each other, or not separated at all, by micellar electrokinetic chromatography. A new separation mechanism has been tested using a different co-surfactant. Preliminary data have led to 2-methyl-1-propanol being chosen for further investigation of the capabilities of the method of separation.     

Characterization of amino acids in silk sericin protein from Gonometa rufobrunnae by MEKC with phenyl isothiocyanate derivatization

An MEKC method was developed for the separation and characterization of phenyl-isothiocyanate (PITC)-labeled amino acids derived from Gonometa rufobrunnae silkworm after microdialysis sample cleanup. The influence of the buffer and SDS concentration on the resolution of the amino acids was investigated. A buffer system consisting of 25 mM phosphate, 10 mM borate buffer at pH 9.00, and 70 mM SDS showed the best results, with 13 PITC-amino acid derivatives being resolved out of 15 possible amino acids that were under study. Microdialysis sampling demonstrated its efficiency as a sample cleanup technique. Sericin protein from G. rufobrunnae was found to be characterized by at least 11 positively identified amino acids. These included His, Tyr, Ser, Ala, Phe, Lys, Gly, Arg, Cys, Glu, and Asp. Leu/Met and Val/Thr were coeluting pairs and hence could not be positively confirmed.     

Liquid chromatography of jasmonic acid amine conjugates

Summary Racemic jasmonic acid (3R,7R/3S,7S)-(±)-JA) was chemically conjugated with different biogenic amines originating from aliphatic and aromatic α-amino acids by decarboxylation. The resulting isomeric compounds were subjected to reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and to HPLC on the chiral stationary phases Chiralpak AS and Nucleodex β-PM. Under reversed-phase conditions, all the homologous amine derivatives tested could be separated from each other except the JA-conjugates containing 2-phenyl-ethylamine and 3-methylbutylamine. On both chiral supports the (3R,7R)-(−)-JA conjugates eluted earlier than those of the enantiomeric counterpart (3S,7S)-(+)-JA. On Chiralpak AS all the isomers studied could be separated to baseline with a mobile phase containingn-hexane and 2-propanol. The calculated resolution factors were between 1.80 and 4.17. The pairs of isomers were also chromatographed on the cyclodextrin stationary phase Nucleodex β-PM with methanol-triethylammonium acetate buffer as mobile phase. Under these conditions resolution factors were between 0.74 and 1.29. The individual isomers were chiroptically characterized by measurement of their circular dichroism.     

Selectivity control in the non-aqueous capillary electrophoretic separation of amino acids

The separation of dansylated amino acids and underivatized amino acids in non-aqueous electrolytes was evaluated with direct and indirect UV detection. Different migration orders were achieved for dansylated amino acids in methanol compared to aqueous electrolyte systems. A reversed migration order was observed for some dansylated amino acids. Separation selectivity was different under acidic and basic conditions and was also a function of the solvation properties of the solvent. Underivatized amino acids were separated in basic and acidic electrolytes in methanol; different separation selectivities and, for some amino acids, a reversed migration order were also observed in these electrolyte systems. Analytical merits of the separation of both derivatized and underivatized amino acids were briefly evaluated; detection limits for dansylated amino acids were in the range of 2·10⁻⁷–4·10⁻⁷ mol/l and, for underivatized amino acids, were 2·10⁻⁶–4·10⁻⁵ mol/l.     

Improved separation of amino acids by thin-layer chromatography

Summary The separation of 35 amino acids on Avicel F layers was investigated and 6 solvent systems are recommended for use either singly or in combination in 2-dimensional chromatography. The mechanisms and limitations of these methods are discussed.     

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.     

Effect of some amino acids and peptides on silicic acid polymerization

The polymerization of silicic acid in aqueous solutions at different pH was followed by the colorimetric molybdosilicate method. The role of four amino acids (serine, lysine, proline and aspartic acid) and the corresponding homopeptides was studied. All four amino acids behave the same way and favor the condensation of silicic acid. Peptides exhibit a stronger catalytic effect than amino acids but they appear to behave in very different ways depending on the nature of side-groups and pH. Poly-lysine and poly-proline for instance lead to the precipitation of solid phases containing both silica and peptides. The role of these biomolecules on the polymerization of silicic acid is discussed in terms of electrostatic interactions, hydrogen bonds and solubility.     

Capillary electrophoretic separation of amino acids: Fraction collection

A simple method is described which enables solutes to be collected at an electrically isolated exit after they have been separated by a free solution capillary electrophoretic system. The method is illustrated by the separation of dansyl amino acids using multiple separation capillaries.     

Indirect conductimetric detection of amino acids after liquid chromatographic separation

A liquid chromatographic method using indirect conductimetric detection is proposed for the determination of low levels of organic compounds, which does not require any special functional characteristics of the analyte. The signal detected is proportional to the molar concentration of the analyte and independent of its nature. The detector response is linearly dependent on analyte concentrations over at least three orders of magnitude. The basis of the detection is to create a conducting background, which will decrease on elution of the organic compounds. The theory of the method is discussed, with special reference to the quantitative displacement of the conducting species of the mobile phase from the column by the analyte on sample injection. The proposed method has been applied to study the chromatographic behaviour of twenty-one amino acids, where a 5 -μm Econosil CN column was used as the stationary phase with a mixture of water-acetonitrile-tetrahydrofuran (70:20:3) containing 1 mM perchloric acid or trichloroacetic acid as the mobile phase. The proposed method allows as little as 10 ng of each amino acid to be determined.     

Supported liquid membrane separation of amine and amino acid derivatives with chiral esters of phosphoric acids as carriers

Studies on the possible use of phosphate and phosphonate esters bearing chiral menthol or nopol moieties as carriers for the transport of amines, amino acids, and amino acid esters through supported liquid membranes (SLM) are presented. Additionally, the enantioselectivity of the SLM transport of alkyl esters of aromatic amino acids and a non‐protein amino acid was also evaluated. It could be concluded that the extent of transport strongly depends on the hydrophobicity of the amino compound. Moreover, the carrier structure also influences the transport of those compounds through SLM: chiral phosphate and phosphonate esters appear to be poor or moderate carriers for enantioselective SLM transport of amino acids and their esters. The transport efficiency and selectivity is strongly dependent on the structure of both the transported compounds and the carrier. However, no meaningful relationship exists between these structural features and transportation or enantioselectivity.     

Chiral separation of enantiomers of amino acid derivatives by high-performance liquid chromatography on a norvancomycin-bonded chiral stationary phase

A novel norvancomycin-bonded chiral stationary phase (NVC-CSP) was synthesized by using the chiral selector of norvancomycin. The chiral separation of enantiomers of several dansyl-amino acids by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in the reversed-phase mode is described. The effects of some parameters, such as organic modifier concentration, column temperature, pH and flow rate of the mobile phase, on the retention and enantioselectivity were investigated. The study showed that ionic, as well as hydrophobic interactions were engaged between the analyte and macrocycle in this chromatographic system. Increasing pH of buffers usually improved the chiral resolution for dansyl--amino-n-butyric acid (Dns-But), dansyl-methionine (Dns-Met) and dansyl-threonine (Dns-Thr), but not for dansyl-glutamic acid (Dns-Glu) which contains two carboxylic groups in its molecular structure. The natural logarithms of selectivity factors (ln ) of all the investigated compounds depended linearly on the reciprocal of temperature (1/T), most processes of enantioseparation were controlled enthalpically. Interestingly, the process of enantioseparaton for dansyl-threonine was enthalpy-controlled at pH of 3.5, while at pH of 7.0, it was entropy-controlled according to thermodynamic parameters Δ_R,SΔH° and Δ_R,SΔS° afforded by Van’t Hoff plots. In order to get baseline separation for all the solutes researched, norvancomycin was also used as a chiral mobile phase additive. In combination with the NVC-CSP, remarkable increases in enanselectivity were observed for all the compounds, as the result of a “synergistic” effect.     

Separation of some amino acids by supercritical fluid chromatography after a pre-derivatization step with classical reagents

Summary The separation of polar compounds by supercritical fluid chromatography is a difficult problem to solve. In this work, we have used a pre-derivatization method to obtain apolar or less polar compounds. Amino acids have been chosen as model polar compounds of biological interest, and 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate (FMOC) and (+)-1-(9-fluorenyl)ethyl chloroformate (FLEC) have been used as derivatizating reagents.With this procedure, the amino acids studied have been separated in less than 40 minutes with a good efficiency. Furthermore, with FLEC reagent, the enantiomeric separation was rapid in comparison with liquid chromatography techniques and the selectivities obtained were in the same order of magnitude.     

Chiral separation of halogenated amino acids by ligand-exchange capillary electrophoresis

The chiral separation of halogenated amino acids by ligand-exchange CE is described. Halogenated amino acids attracted increasing interest in recent years because of their physiological activities. Different chiral selectors, as there are L-4-hydroxyproline, L-histidine, and N-alkyl derivatives of L-4-hydroxyproline in form of their copper(II) complexes, are compared for their chiral recognition ability for halogenated amino acids. The influence of various parameters, such as selector concentration, pH, organic modifier, and field strength, on the resolution was investigated. All halogenated amino acids investigated were baseline-separated under optimized conditions.     

Experiments with Organic Modifiers in Reversed-Flow MEKC

Reversed-flow MEKC, i.e. MEKC at low pHs to suppress the electroosmotic flow, was evaluated for the separation of some homologous series. At low pHs compared to MEKC, the elution order reverses and normal phase type migration is obtained. Moreover, the elution window is nearly infinite. Efficiencies are very high and reproducibilities in absolute migration times are acceptable (%RSD < 5). The influence of a series of alcohol modifiers was investigated.     

Production and utilization of amino acids.

The amino acid industry has been steadily expanding since monosodium glutamate was first marketed as a flavoring material in 1909. Its production has recently reached almost the 1 billion dollar level. Amino acids are produced by extraction from protein hydrolyzates, by fermentation with the aid of microorganisms, by enzymatic processes, and by chemical synthesis. To obtain natural L-amino acid, chemical synthesis generally requires two additional steps, i.e. optical resolution and racemization of the D isomer. The most important applications of amino acids include the fortification of plant food and feeds by supplementation of the deficient essential amino acid(s). Apart from their uses in the food industry, medical applications of amino acids (nutritional preparations and therapeutic agents) are becoming increasingly important.     

Derivatives for separation of amino acid enantiomers

Summary An optimum gas chromatographic separation of all protein amino acids in one run on capillaries coated with Chirasil-Val is difficult to achieve. Overlap of enantiomers of different amino acids may occur because the relative retention times depend upon the overall polarity of the stationary phase, the film thickness and the actual temperature programm. Employment of different derivatives formed by esterification with isopropanol, n-propanol, isobutanol and n-butanol and by acylation with trifluoroacetic, pentafluoropropionic and heptafluorobutyric anhydrides yields patterns of relative elution of all amino acid enantiomers. Thus, even critical pairs of amino acid enantiomers can be separated or shifted in their relative retention times. All amino acid enantiomers can be separated and quantitatively estimated.     

Sensitive analysis of amino acids in injection liquor by reversed-phase HPLC

A convenient derivatization method of amino acids with l-fluoro-2,4-dimtrobenzene as reaction reagent and a separation system were described. The derivative amino acids were separated on a specific chemically bonded phase column with a simple linear gradient elution consisting of aqueous buffer and methanol. The eluate was detected by common ultraviolet absorption detector at 360 nm. The detection limits of amino acids were as low as 10 picomole. This method has been successfully applied to assay amino acid injection liquor used in hospital. It has good repro-ducibility and precision. The procedures avoid the requirements of particular derivative equipment and analyzer employed in conventional amino acid analysis.     

Determination of amino acids in rat vitreous perfusates by capillary electrophoresis

In vivo determinations of amino acids are important for improving our understanding of physiological states of biological tissue function and dysfunction. However, the chemically complex matrix of different biological fluids complicates the assay of this important class of molecules. We introduce a method for characterizing the amino acid composition of submicroliter volumes of vitreous humor perfusates. Low-flow push-pull perfusion sampling is compatible with collecting small volume samples in a complicated matrix that are potentially difficult to separate. An efficient, sensitive, and rapid analysis of amino acids from in vivo perfusates of the vitreous is presented with 3-(4-carboxybenzoyl)-2-quinoline-carboxaldehyde (CBQCA) derivatitation and capillary electrophoresis (CE) separation with laser-induced fluorescence detection (LIF). Derivatization with CBQCA for up to 2 h provided high sensitivity and low detection limits at the nM level. Seventeen amino acids including D-serine (D-Ser) and D-aspartate (D-Asp) were resolved in less than 10 min. Importantly, D-Ser is separated from its enantiomeric pair. Characterization of vitreal amino acids with this assay technique will be useful for understanding ocular diseases and physiological mechanisms in vision.     

Photorelease of amino acid neurotransmitters from pyrenylmethyl ester conjugates

The linkage of model neurotransmitter l-amino acids, such as glycine, alanine, β-alanine, glutamic acid and γ-aminobutyric acid, to a pyrenylmethyl group as the fluorescent moiety through an ester bond at their carboxylic functions at the main and side chains (in the case of glutamic acid) was investigated. The behaviour of the resulting fluorescent conjugates towards photocleavage was studied in different cleavage conditions, namely the wavelength of irradiation and the use of different solvents, in a photochemical reactor equipped with lamps of 254, 300, 350 and 419 nm, followed by HPLC/UV monitoring.