Isolation of the 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate derivative in the determination of sulphamethazine

Derivatisation of amine-containing analytes with 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate (FMOC) to form fluorescent adducts requires a large excess of FMOC. This excess hydrolyses to form FMOC-OH, which is also fluorescent. Solvent extraction has been investigated as a means of isolating the sulphamethazine (SMZ) adduct (FMOC-SMZ) from the hydrolysis product in order to perform rapid spectrophotometric or spectrofluorimetric assays. However, even under the most favourable pH conditions possible, FMOC-OH was not totally removed. Attempts to enhance the separation by reaction of FMOC-OH with 1-ethoxy-4-dichloro-S-triazinylnaphthalene (EDTN) or by acetylation were also unsuccessful. On the other hand, reaction of FMOC with mixed substrates, followed by two pentane extractions to remove the excess FMOC and direct injection into an HPLC provides the desired separations on a reversed phase column (RPLC) with methanol-modified, (pH 3.5) phosphate buffers. FMOC-SMZ is readily separated from FMOC-OH under all elution conditions, from the FMOC-amino acids (under gradient conditions or isocratically up to 75% methanol), and from other FMOC-sulphonamides and FMOC-dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors (isocratically up to 70% methanol). Hence conversion to the FMOC derivatives permits SMZ to be separated from all of the potential interferants tested by isocratic elution with 70% methanol in RPLC. Analysis for the amino acid derivatives of FMOC may be done without interference from SMZ in samples.