Dynamic chelation ion chromatography of transition and heavy metal ions using a mobile phase containing 4-chlorodipicolinic acid

The chromatographic behaviour of selected transition and heavy metal ions, the lanthanides, uranium and aluminium, on a neutral polystyrene-divinylbenzene (PS-DVB) stationary phase (7 microm Hamilton PRP-1) dynamically modified with 4-chlorodipicolinic acid, was investigated to evaluate retention characteristics. Complicated retention factor against pH plots were found for these metals demonstrating changes in retention order. It was concluded that complexation between the metal ions and the ligand adsorbed on the resin was strongly influenced by the decrease in dynamic loading with increase in pH, coinciding with changes in the metal-to-ligand ratio in the mobile phase. Possible reversed-phase interactions between metal-chlorodipicolinic acid complexes and the hydrophobic PS-DVB stationary phase also could not be ruled out. An eluent of 0.25 mM chlorodipicolinic acid, I M potassium nitrate at pH 2.2 was suitable for the separation of seven transition and heavy metal ions in under 20 min on a 250 x 4.6 mm column (with 50-mm guard column), determined in a certified water sample with good accuracy (R2 > or = 0.994) and reproducibility (RSD 1-4.2%). Pb(II), Cd(II) and Cu(II) were additionally analysed in <10 min in a more complicated certified rice flour matrix, using the same eluent but adjusted to pH 1.5, again with good accuracy (R2 > or = 0.998) and reproducibility (RSD 0.48-1.38%).     

Pressurized gradient capillary electrochromatographic separation of eighteen amino acid derivatives

A pressurized gradient capillary electrochromatography (pCEC) instrument was developed to separate 18 amino acid derivatives. A reversed-phase C18 column (3 microm, 130 mm x 75 microm I.D.) and an acetate buffer (50 mmol/l NaAc, pH 6.4) with an ion-pair reagent (1% N,N-dimethylformamide) were used to separate derivatized amino acids from a standard solution (2 microg/ml), and the wavelength of the UV-Vis detector was 360 nm. The pressure on the capillary column was kept at approx. 70 Pa and 3 kV positive voltage was added on the outlet end of column. The effect of voltage on the eluting order of amino acids and the resolution of separation were studied, and it was found that when the voltage was higher than 3 kV, the adsorption of amino acids in the porous C18 column occurred. The effect of salt concentration, injection volume, and column length on the separation of amino acids was determined. The amino acid sample was separated by pCEC, and RSDs of the migration times of each amino acid were all less than 2.5%.     

Scale-up potential of ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography method to produce biologically active inositol phosphates

This study was undertaken to evaluate the possibility that an analytical ion-pair HPLC procedure used to determine phytic acid (IP6) and its degradation products (IP3-IP5) can be transformed to a preparative purification method. A commercial phytic acid (CPA) preparation was separated into its component fractions of IP3, IP4, IPS, and IP6 on two C18 columns (1.8 and 4.2 ml) using 51% methanol containing 0.6-1% tetrabutylammonium hydroxide as ion-pair reagent and 0-0.025 M formic acid (pH 4.3) as eluent at 1.7 and 3.0 cm/min linear velocity, respectively, and 40 degrees C. Elution was monitored at 40 degrees C by a refractive index detector. Reproducible separation of CPA into four well-resolved peaks on these columns was possible after optimizing method variables, particularly the concentration of ion-pair reagent in the injected sample (>1.5%). The same separations were obtained after CPA loads were scaled up 25 times on a steel column (15 cm x 19 mm I.D.), packed with Ethyl C2 sorbent (10 microm) and on a 25 cm x 21.2 mm I.D. C18 column, but at a reduced linear velocity to increase the resolution. Therefore, this optimization of separation not only is useful for analysis of phytic acid and its degradation products but also it provides key parameters for scale up for further fractionation and characterization.     

On the perspectives of capillary electrophoresis modes for the determination of morphine in human plasma without sample pretreatment

Screening and confirmation of drugs of abuse in body fluids are important for the medicinal treatment and form the legal basis of court judgments. A fast and precise identification of toxic substances is necessary. Morphine was determined in human plasma by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MECC) using sample stacking mode. The electrophoretic separation was performed in an uncoated fused-silica capillary, 70 cm long to the detector, with an additional 10 cm to the cathode (75 microm i.d. and 360 microm o.d.). The UV absorbance detection was set at 190 nm. The electrophoretic buffers were prepared from 60 to 300 mm disodium tetraborate decahydrate, pH 10.5. Sodium dodecyl sulfate was added to the final solution in a concentration of 60 mm for MECC. All electrophoretic separations were carried out at 10 kV and the capillary temperature was ambient (25 degrees C). A linear calibration graph was obtained in the concentration range studied (50-5000 ng/mL). Several samples of drug-free plasma were checked for potential endogenous interference and the results showed no interference from the endogenous components, which co-migrated with morphine. As little as 50 ng/mL of morphine could be successfully analyzed by MECC in the concentration mode with acceptable precision. It is possible to determine morphine directly in plasma at therapeutic concentrations.     

Development of HPLC and NACE methods for the simultaneous determination of benzoic and sorbic acids in sour snap beans containing oil

The practical methods were developed for the simultaneous determination of benzoic acid (BA) and sorbic acid (SA) in sour snap bean samples containing oil. BA and SA in the samples were extracted by ultrasonication with water, followed by cleanup procedures with precipitation for removing the potential proteins and with petroleum ether liquid-liquid extraction for removing the edible oil contained in the samples. The HPLC method was developed using Supelco C18 (250 mm x 4.6 mm id, 5 microm) as column, MeOH-20 mM NH(4)Ac (25:75 v/v) at 1.0 mL/min as the mobile phase and 230 nm as the detection wavelength. The optimal NACE method was established with a running buffer of 20.0 mM NH(4)Ac in 95% MeOH (pH* 10.6), and an applied voltage of -30 kV over a capillary of 50 microm id x 48.5 cm (40 cm to the detector window), which gave a baseline separation of BA and SA, and as well as of the blank matrix within ca. 10 min. Both HPLC and NACE methods gave the relatively lower limits of quantification at about 0.01-0.02 and 0.04-0.05 mg/kg, respectively, whereas the overall recoveries were larger than 85.0%. The proposed methods have been successfully applied to measure 15 real sour bean samples and the content profile of BA and SA in sour bean samples was obtained and evaluated.     

Single-column method of chelation ion chromatography for the analysis of trace metals in complex samples

A single-column chelation ion chromatographic system for the preconcentration and separation of trace transition metals is described. The system includes standard chromatographic equipment with a post-column reagent system based on the reaction with 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol followed by photometric detection at 495 nm. Iminodiacetic acid bonded to 5 μm silica (Diasorb IDA) was used as a chelating stationary phase. The strong complexing ability in combination with good kinetics of complexation and ion-exchange selectivity of iminodiacetic functional groups allow both preconcentration of Mn, Co, Cd, Zn, Ni and Cu from waters of high salinity and efficient separation with the same column. The retention characteristics of alkaline-earth and transition metal ions on Diasorb IDA silica (250×4 mm I.D.) column was investigated for a variety of eluents including nitric acid, maleic, malonic, citric, dipicolinic, picolinic, tartaric and oxalic acids. The influence of ionic strength on retention of metal ions involving high nitrate and chloride concentrations was also evaluated. The baseline separation of preconcentrated metals was achieved using a three-step gradient elution scheme which involved first, flushing of the column loaded with the sample with 0.5 M KCl−0.5mMHNO₃ for 10 min, followed by 80 mM tartaric acid for 20 min and finally 10 mM picolinic acid for 20 min.     

Iron protoporphyrin-modified monolithic support for on-line preconcentration of angiotensin prior to CE analysis

An on-line preconcentration method using a polymeric monolithic support is proposed for the retention of the decapeptide angiotensin I and its subsequent analysis by CZE. Monolithic capillary columns were prepared in fused-silica (FS) capillaries of 150 microm id by ionizing radiation-initiated in situ polymerization and cross-linking of diethylene glycol dimethacrylate and glycidyl methacrylate, and chemically modified with iron protoporphyrin IX (Fe-ProP). Monolithic microcolumns (8 mm long) were coupled on-line to the inlet of the separation capillary (FS capillary, 75 microm id x10 cm from the inlet to the microcolumn and 27 cm from the microcolumn to the detector). Angiotensin I was released from the sorbent by a 50 mM sodium phosphate, pH 2.5/ACN, 75:25 v/v solution and then analyzed by CZE with UV absorption detection at 214 nm. The concentration LOQ (CLOQ) was 0.5 ng/mL. The Fe-ProP-derivatized monolithic microcolumn coupled to the separation capillary exhibited a high retention capacity for peptide angiotensin I, and showed as much as 10,000-fold improvement in concentration sensitivity.     

Monolithic silica columns with various skeleton sizes and through-pore sizes for capillary liquid chromatography

Reduction of through-pore size and skeleton size of a monolithic silica column was attempted to provide high separation efficiency in a short time. Monolithic silica columns were prepared to have various sizes of skeletons (approximately 1-2 microm) and through-pores (approximately 2-8 microm) in a fused-silica capillary (50-200 microm I.D.). The columns were evaluated in HPLC after derivatization to C18 phase. It was possible to prepare monolithic silica structures in capillaries of up to 200 microm I.D. from a mixture of tetramethoxysilane and methyltrimethoxysilane. As expected, a monolithic silica column with smaller domain size showed higher column efficiency and higher pressure drop. High external porosity (> 80%) and large through-pores resulted in high permeability (K = 8 x 10(-14) -1.3 x 10(-12) m2) that was 2-30 times higher than that of a column packed with 5-mirom silica particles. The monolithic silica columns prepared in capillaries produced a plate height of about 8-12 microm with an 80% aqueous acetonitrile mobile phase at a linear velocity of 1 mm/s. Separation impedance, E, was found to be as low as 100 under optimum conditions, a value about an order of magnitude lower than reported for conventional columns packed with 5-microm particles. Although a column with smaller domain size generally resulted in higher separation impedance and the lower total performance, the monolithic silica columns showed performance beyond the limit of conventional particle-packed columns under pressure-driven conditions.     

Nafion membrane electrophoresis with direct and simplified end-column pulse electrochemical detection of amino acids

A novel electrophoresis technique, in which the separation column was replaced by a strip of Nafion membrane (5.0 cm x 0.20 mm x 0.25 mm), was developed for the separation of an amino acid mixture (glycine, asparic acid and lysine), followed by quadruple-pulse electrochemical detection. Nafion membrane contains hydrophilic pores (10-20 A and 50-60 A in size) acting as very narrow electrophoresis channels. The fixed-charge sites (-SO(3) (-)) on the hydrophilic pore surface provide a strong charged background. A platinum disk electrode (0.90 mm inner diameter) was employed as the detection electrode and the electrophoresis cathode was used as the quasi-reference and counter electrode for the end-column electrochemical detector, without decoupler. Under optimized conditions the mixture of amino acids could be separated at a voltage of only 90 V with a detection limit of 10(-7) M, indicating that Nafion membrane electrophoresis is a potentially attractive technique for the separation of small organic molecules or ions.     

Electrochemical detector for microchip electrophoresis of poly(dimethylsiloxane) with a three-dimensional adjustor

This paper presents an electrochemical detector for poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microchip CE with a three-dimensional adjustor which makes it possible to accurately align a separate working electrode that can be easily fabricated in laboratory to the uncertain PDMS microchannel outlet. The substantial influence of the electrode-PDMS microchannel distance was investigated. The optimal electrode-outlet distance was found to be 10 microm for the PDMS microchannel with the width of 50 microm due to its relatively slow electroosmotic flow. Adrenaline and catechol were well separated, with a linear response range from 20 microM to 1 mM, and a detection limit of 2 microM for catechol, using carbon disk electrode (diameter of 300 microm). Furthermore, arginine and histidine can be well separated and detected directly in the PDMS microchannel using a Cu disk electrode (diameter of 150 microm).     

Simultaneous determination of aminothiols, ascorbic acid and uric acid in biological samples by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection

A method based on capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection has been employed for the separation and determination of homocysteine, cysteine, reduced glutathione, ascorbic acid and uric acid. Effects of several important factors such as the acidity and concentration of the running buffer, separation voltage, injection time and detection potential were investigated to acquire the optimum conditions. The detection electrode was a 500 microm diameter platinum disk electrode at a working potential of +1.05 V (vs saturated calomel electrode). The five analytes were well separated within 10 min in a 50 cm long fused silica capillary at a separation voltage of 18 kV in a 100 mm phosphate buffer (pH 7.8). The relation between peak current and analyte concentration was linear over about 3 orders of magnitude with the detection limits (S/N = 3) ranging from 0.83 to 2.58 microm. The proposed method was successfully applied to determine cysteine, reduced glutathione, ascorbic acid and uric acid in human whole blood and rat brain tissues with satisfactory assay results and should find a wide range of bioanalytical applications.     

Conventional and narrow bore short capillary columns with cyclodextrin derivatives as chiral selectors to speed-up enantioselective gas chromatography and enantioselective gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses

The analysis of complex real-world samples of vegetable origin requires rapid and accurate routine methods, enabling laboratories to increase sample throughput and productivity while reducing analysis costs. This study examines shortening enantioselective-GC (ES-GC) analysis time following the approaches used in fast GC. ES-GC separations are due to a weak enantiomer-CD host-guest interaction and the separation is thermodynamically driven and strongly influenced by temperature. As a consequence, fast temperature rates can interfere with enantiomeric discrimination; thus the use of short and/or narrow bore columns is a possible approach to speeding-up ES-GC analyses. The performance of ES-GC with a conventional inner diameter (I.D.) column (25 m length x 0.25 mm I.D., 0.15 microm and 0.25 microm d(f)) coated with 30% of 2,3-di-O-ethyl-6-O-tert-butyldimethylsilyl-beta-cyclodextrin in PS-086 is compared to those of conventional I.D. short column (5m length x 0.25 mm I.D., 0.15 microm d(f)) and of different length narrow bore columns (1, 2, 5 and 10 m long x 0.10 mm I.D., 0.10 microm d(f)) in analysing racemate standards of pesticides and in the flavour and fragrance field and real-world-samples. Short conventional I.D. columns gave shorter analysis time and comparable or lower resolutions with the racemate standards, depending mainly on analyte volatility. Narrow-bore columns were tested under different analysis conditions; they provided shorter analysis time and resolutions comparable to those of conventional I.D. ES columns. The narrow-bore columns offering the most effective compromise between separation efficiency and analysis time are the 5 and 2m columns; in combination with mass spectrometry as detector, applied to lavender and bergamot essential oil analyses, these reduced analysis time by a factor of at least three while separation of chiral markers remained unaltered.     

超高效液相色谱法检测化妆品中的12种磺胺抗生素

建立了采用超高效液相色谱(UPLC)-二极管阵列检测器（PDA）测定化妆品中12种常见的磺胺抗生素(磺胺、磺胺间甲氧嘧啶、磺胺醋酰、磺胺甲基异唑、磺胺嘧啶、磺胺二甲异唑、磺胺噻唑、磺胺二甲氧嘧啶、磺胺甲基嘧啶、磺胺喹啉、磺胺二甲嘧啶、磺胺硝苯)的方法。采用Acquity UPLCTM BEHC C18 色谱柱(50 mm×2.1 mm, 1.7 μm),流动相为乙腈/0.1%的甲酸水溶液,梯度洗脱。样品经提取、反萃取后,用UPLC-PDA进行分析检测,结合保留时间和紫外光谱进行定性分析,定量检测波长268 nm。12种磺胺的检出限(S/N=3)均为1 μg/g,定量下限(S/N=10)为2～3 μg/g,在1～25 mg/L(磺胺硝苯为0.5～12.5 mg/L)范围内,峰面积和质量浓度的线性关系良好(r>0.9997)。添加水平为40, 8 μg(磺胺硝苯为20, 4 μg)时,12种磺胺的平均回收率分别为86.8%～98.1%和80.1%～96.9%,相对标准偏差小于10%(n=6)。结果表明该方法简单,分离效果好,速度快,能够满足检测化妆品中12种常见的磺胺抗生素的需要。     

Rapid and sensitive analysis of three polyphenols in tobacco by CE using homemade C(4) D with a mini detection cell

A rapid, sensitive, and practical CE with C(4) D detection was developed for the analysis of three polyphenols (rutin, scopoletin, and chlorogenic acid) in tobacco samples. The constructed mini detection cell (12 mm × 10 mm × 10 mm) of C(4) D featured with small inner cell volume (～2 nL), smaller noise (<0.9 mV), repeatability, high strength and durableness. Three polyphenols were ultrasonically extracted with methanol-water (70:30, v/v) solution following SPE cleanup. The CE method was optimized with the running buffer of 150 mmol L(-1) 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (pH 11.2), and the applied separation voltage of +20 kV over a capillary of 50 μm id × 375 μm od × 50 cm (38 cm to the C(4) D window, 41.5 cm to the UV detector window), which gave a baseline separation of three polyphenols within ca. 6 min. The method provided the limits of quantification (S/N = 10) at about 0.08-0.15 μg g(-1) for three polyphenols, whereas the overall recoveries ranged from 82% to 88%. The proposed method has been successfully applied to measure three polyphenols in the actual tobacco samples, and their contents were calculated and evaluated.     

Determination and pharmacokinetic study of 1-p-(3.3-dimethyl-1-triazeno) benzoic acid in cancer patients by capillary gas chromatography

A capillary gas chromatographic method was developed for determining 1-p-(3.3-dimethyl-1-triazeno) benzoic acid in the plasma and urine of cancer patients under pharmacokinetic study. The drug was extracted with ethyl acetate and methylated with diazomethane. Octadelane (10 microg/ml) was added as internal standard. The separation was carried out on an OV-1 quartz capillary column, 15 m x 0.32 mm (0.52 microm), with high-purity nitrogen as carrier gas and flame ionization detector (FID) as detector. The column temperature was held at 130 degrees C for 9 min and then programmed to 240 degrees C, at a rate of 35 degrees C/min. The temperature of both injector and detector was 260 degrees C. The standard curve was linear from 0.4 to 40 microg/mL in plasma, and from 0.8 to 20 microg/mL in urine, with correlation coefficients of 0.9979 and 0.9932. The relative standard deviations (RSD) were less than 9.7%. The minimum recovery of this method was 81.8%. This method was applied to the pharmacokinetic studies of 1-p-(3.3-dimethyl-1-triazeno) benzoic acid in cancer patients after a single dose (i.v.) of 160, 420 or 760 mg/m(2) was administered. They all conformed to the two-compartment open model and showed linear pharmacokinetics. The excretion of this drug in the urine was minimal.     

High performance optical absorbance detectors based on low noise switched integrators

Optical absorption detection is the most common analytical measurement principle in liquid phase analysis. The current state-of-the-art of commercially available detectors exhibit peak-to-peak (p-p) noise levels in the range of 1 x 10(-5)-2 x 10(-5) absorbance units (10-20 microAU). Using circuitry based on newly available switched integrator integrated circuit (IC) packages, it is possible to construct inexpensive absorbance detectors with p-p noise levels as low as 3 microAU under actual use conditions. The necessary electronics are described and performance data are reported with light emitting diodes (LEDs) as light sources. Even in the capillary format with a rectangular capillary (50 x 1000 microm cross section) with a slitwidth <50 microm and with the 1000 microm dimension as the nominal pathlength, p-p noise levels of 10 microAU are observed, from which a concentration limit of detection (LOD) of 10 nM for bromothymol blue (BTB) can be estimated with a 660 nm light source.     

高效离子交换色谱-电化学检测法测定药物合成中间体中的6-磷酸甘露糖

在制备6-磷酸甘露糖过程中,将6-磷酸甘露糖与磷酸根杂质分开是纯化过程和建立质量标准的重要环节。本文建立了6-磷酸甘露糖和磷酸根的离子色谱分离-电化学检测方法。样品经溶解、过滤后进行色谱分析,以IonPac AG18离子交换柱(50 mm×4 mm)为保护柱,在Ionpac AS18离子交换色谱柱(250 mm×4 mm)上分离,以25 mmol/L氢氧化钾溶液为流动相,等度淋洗,流速1.0 mL/min,安培检测器和电导检测器串联检测,外标法定量。先使用安培检测器检测,在碱性条件下,6-磷酸甘露糖在安培检测器上被选择性检出;后使用电导检测器检测,经ASRS型抑制器抑制背景电导后,6-磷酸甘露糖和磷酸根同时被电导检测器检出,二者分离度良好。采用安培检测器检测时,进样量为25 μL, 6-磷酸甘露糖的线性范围为0.06～10.00 mg/L,相关系数为0.9998,回收率为92.1%～103.1%,相对标准偏差均小于3%,检出限(以信噪比为3计)为0.02 mg/L。该方法灵敏度高,无杂质干扰,前处理简便,可用于原料药合成中间体的检测,结果令人满意。     

Analysis of carbohydrates in drinks by high-performance liquid chromatography with a dynamically modified amino column and evaporative light scattering detection

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method with a dynamically modified amino column and evaporative light-scattering detector (ELSD) was established for the direct analysis of the carbohydrates in some drinks. A separation column (Zorbax Rx-SIL, 250 mm x 4.6 mm I.D., 5 microm, Hewlett-Packard, USA) which was modified by ethylenediamine and a guard column (Zorbax Rx-SIL, 12.5 mm x 4.6 mm I.D., 5 microm) were used. The mobile phase was a mixture of water-acetonitrile (1:2.6, v/v) containing 0.03% (v/v) ethylenediamine. Regression equations revealed linear relationship (correlation coefficients=0.996-0.999) between the mass of carbohydrates injected and the carbohydrates peak areas detected by ELSD. The detection limits of ELSD (S/N=3) were between 0.2 and 1.2 microg for different carbohydrates. This method is simple and sensitive.     

Comparison of the use of single capillaries and coupled capillaries based on micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) and sweeping-MEKC modes

The use of single capillaries (25 and 50 microm inner diameter (ID)) and coupled capillaries of different diameters (100-50 and 75-25 microm ID) based on micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) and sweeping-MEKC modes is compared and reported. Naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde (NDA)-derivatized dopamine was selected as the model compound by examining the fluorescence intensity when a violet (410 +/- 7 nm, 2 mW) light-emitting-diode (LED) was used as the light source. When a single capillary (50 microm ID) was used, the detection limit for NDA-derivatized dopamine was determined to be 2.0 x 10(-7) M (Signal-to-nose ratio S/N = 3) based on the MEKC mode. This was improved to 4.0 x 10(-9) M when the sweeping-MEKC mode was applied. In addition, this can be further improved to 1.0 x 10(-9) M and 5.6 x 10(-10) M when 100-50 and 75-25 microm ID coupled capillaries are used. The use of the coupled capillary is also helpful for improving the separation efficiency. Based on the sweeping-MEKC mode, the number of theoretical plates (N) for the detected peaks were determined to be 6.3 +/- 2.7 x 10(5) by means of a single capillary (50 microm ID). This can be improved to 9.4 +/- 3.6 x 10(5) and 9.4 +/- 0.9 x 10(6) when the 100-50 and 75-25 microm ID coupled capillaries were applied.     

Retention/quantitation properties of the o-phthaldialdehyde-3-mercaptopropionic acid and the o-phthaldialdehyde-N-acetyl-L-cysteine amino acid derivatives in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

The separation/identification of 25 amino acids as their o-phthaldialdehyde-3-mercaptopropionic acid (OPA/MPA) and o-phthaldialdehyde-N-acetyl-L-cysteine (OPA/NAC) derivatives have been optimized [paying particular attention to those amino acids which elute with more than one derivative (glycine, histidine, gamma-aminobutyric acid, beta-alanine, ornithine, lysine) and that are expected to be present in apples in their free form]. Optimum separation conditions are reported on six reversed-phase columns: Nucleosil 3 and 5 microm, 150(+20 guard)x4.0 mm; Gromsil 3 microm, 150(+10 guard)x4.0 mm; Hypersil 5 microm, 150(+20 guard)x4.0 mm and 200(+20 guard)x4.0 mm; and Hypersil 3 microm, 150(+20 guard)x4.0 mm. Elutions were followed, simultaneously, with photodiode array and fluorescence detectors connected in line. Optimization studies carried out in model solutions as a function of temperature (30-55 degrees C) and eluent flow-rate (0.8-2.5 mL/min) demonstrated that optimum resolutions are obtained with the highest flow-rate applicable (remaining on the safe side with a column pressure of < 3500 p.s.i.; 1 p.s.i.=6894.76 Pa) in the temperature range 30-50 degrees C. Twenty-five amino acids, eluting in 31 separate, characteristic derivatives, were determined on all six columns (the main component, asparagine, present in overwhelming excess, together with the minor constituents glutamine, beta-alanine, gamma-aminobutyric acid, homoserine, and homoarginine). Optimum conditions in the case of both derivatives were obtained on the same type of column (Hypersil, 5 microm), as follows: for the OPA/MPA amino acids with programmed flow-rate [1.3-2.3 ml/min; column, 200(+20 guard)x4 mm], at 50 degrees C, while, for the OPA/NAC amino acids at 2.1 ml/min flow rate, at 30 degrees C [column, 150(+20 guard)x4 mm], with 40 and 37 min run times, including equilibration. Responses of the corresponding amino acids proved to be independent of the column used; reproducibility in the concentration range 6-12,000 pmol, related to the injected amount of amino acids, was <3.4% RSD (average relative standard deviation percentage). The utility of the protocol was demonstrated in the quantitation of the free amino acid content of five apple varieties (Jonagored, Idared, Jonica, Florina, Freedom) on various harvesting dates and after different storage times. Derivatization of the apple pulp was performed with filtered samples, applying any special isolation processes.