Ligand-exchange chromatography of amino acid enantiomers and its application to the biotransformation of DL-aspartic acid byPseudomonas dacunhae

Summary The separation of the D and L enantiomers of eighteen essential α amino acids has been investigated by ligand-exchange chromatography (LEC). The effect of column temperature on the retention times and resolution of individual amino acid enantiomers has been studied by varying the temperature from 25 to 50 °C for a mobile phase containing Cu²⁺ ions. By use of a temperature of 50 °C and Zn²⁺ in the mobile phase, eight of the eighteen amino acid enantiomers can be resolved sufficiently well for practical application. Only phenylalamine, tyrosine, and tryptophan can be separated by use of Ni²⁺ as complexation metal at 50 °C. LEC has been used to monitor the decarboxylation of racemic DL-aspartic acid byPseudomonas dacunhae. Analysis of DL amino acid enantiomers in different media was performed at column temperatures of 30 and 50°C by addition of 0.125 mM Cu²⁺ to the aqueous mobile phase. It was found that the analytical performance is most dependent on the identity of the metal used for complexation; the concentration of the metal was of secondary importance and the column temperature less important still.