Fluorometric determination of guanidino compounds by new postcolumn derivatization system using reversed-phase ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography

A new postcolumn derivatization system using 1,2-naphthoquinone-4-sulfonate as fluorogenic reagent for the fluorometric determination of guanidino compounds is described. The guanidino compounds were separated by reversed-phase ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography with an isocratic mobile phase containing the fluorogenic reagent and octane-sulfonate as the counterion. Fluorophors were derived from a condensation of guanidino compounds with the fluorogenic reagent in an alkaline solution. The chromatographic system using the mobile phase containing the fluorogenic reagent was simplified because only two pumps were required to deliver the mobile phase and the alkaline solution. Separation of guanidino compounds was completed within 25 min using a Nucleosil C8 column (5 microns, 15 cm X 4.6 mm i.d.). This method was applied to serum obtained from patients on hemodialysis therapy.     

Bioanalysis and pharmacokinetics of chitosan ester in rabbit serum by HPLC with postcolumn fluorescence derivatization

Interest in antiatherosclerotic activity of chitosan ester (PS916) with a new form of sulfate amino polysaccharide derived from marine chitin has necessitated the development of a sensitive and specific method to study its pharmacokinetics. A sensitive and reproducible high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with postcolumn fluorescence derivatization method was developed and validated for the determination of PS916 in rabbit serum. Chromatography was carried out using a C8 reversed-phase column with an isocratic mobile phase consisting of methanol-water (20:80, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.2 ml/min. The derivatization procedure involved postcolumn reaction with guanidine hydrochloride in an alkaline medium at 110 degrees C. The fluorometric detector was operated at 250 nm (excitation) and 435 nm (emission). The assay was linear over the concentration range of 5-100 microg/ml. The lower limit of detection (LLOD) was found to be 1.0 microg/ml. The proposed method was successfully applied for a pharmacokinetic study of PS916 in rabbits.     

Determination of amino acids in human plasma by liquid chromatography with postcolumn ninhydrin derivatization using a hydroxyapatite cartridge for precolumn deproteination

Amino acids in human plasma were determined by liquid chromatography with postcolumn ninhydrin derivatization using a hydroxyapatite cartridge for precolumn deproteination. S-Carboxymethyl-l-cysteine, d-phenylglycine and S-aminoethyl-l-cysteine were found to be suitable internal standards. The proposed method is simple, rapid (deproteination time less than 1 min) and reproducible [relative standard deviation below 3% except for low-level aspartic acid (n = 3)]. The average recovery of 25 amino acids was above 90%. The elution time of amino acids in human plasma was approximately 2 h. Protein binding of tryptophan was also determined by the proposed method. The analytical data for amino acids in human plasma deproteinated using the proposed and published methods (5-sulphosalicylic acid and ethanol) were compared.     

Analysis of aspartic acid and asparagine metabolism in Xenopus laevis oocytes using a simple and sensitive HPLC method

The amino acids in methanol-soluble extracts of Xenopus oocytes were measured using a method involving precolumn derivatization with phenylisothiocyanate and reverse phase HPLC of the derivatized amino acids. This technique allows the estimation of asparagine and glutamine pools in oocytes, estimated as 70 and 283 pmoles per oocyte, respectively. The pool sizes of the other amino acids were similar to previously reported results obtained using conventional ion exchange chromatography and postcolumn derivatization with ninhydrin. The advantages of the method developed here include picomolar sensitivity and the enhanced resolution of asparagine and glutamine from other amino acids. The kinetics of aspartic acid and asparagine utilization were monitored following microinjection of oocytes with [³H]aspartic acid and [¹⁴C]asparagine. The aspartic acid pool turned over rapidly with a half-time of <30 min. The asparagine pool was metabolized much more slowly and appeared to be utilized almost completely for protein synthesis. The absolute rate of protein synthesis in oocytes was calculated from the incorporation data and chemical pool measurements as ～25 ng/hr-oocyte. The methodology developed here may be useful in experimental situations involving limited amounts of biological material. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

High performance liquid chromatographic determination of topiramate in human serum using UV detection

Topiramate has no ultraviolet, visible or fluorescence absorption. Analysis of the drug in human serum has been reported by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with either mass detector or fluorescence detection after precolumn derivatization using 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate as fluorescent labeling agent. This study was aimed to validate derivatization and analysis of topiramate in human serum with HPLC using UV detection. The drug was extracted from human serum by liquid-liquid extraction and subjected to derivatization with 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate. Analysis was performed on a phenyl column using of spectrophotometer detection operated at wavelength of 264 nm. A mixture of phosphate buffer (0.05M) containing triethylamine (1 ml/l, v/v; pH 2.3) and methanol (28:72, v/v) at a flow rate of 2.5 ml/min was used as mobile phase. No interference was found with endogenous substances. Validity of the method was studied and the method was precise and accurate with a linearity range from 40 ng/ml to 40 microg/ml. The limit of quantification was 40 ng/ml of serum. The correlation coefficient between HPLC methods using fluorescence and UV detections was studied and found to be 0.992.     

Molecular and nanoparticle postcolumn reagents for assay of low-molecular-mass biothiols using high-performance liquid chromatography

Determination of low-molecular-mass (LMM) biothiols in biological matrixes is of importance in the studies of their related bio-processes and for the clinical diagnostics of a variety of diseases. Standard method for the assay of the small biothiols is in demand. Postcolumn techniques used in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) allow automation of the derivatization step and, therefore, are suitable for standardization of HPLC analysis. This paper gives an overview of the existing reaction systems useful for the postcolumn assay of the LMM biothiol molecules in conjunction with HPLC. The postcolumn reagents are classified by the types of their reactions with thiol-containing compounds. The chemical reactivity and selectivity as well as the spectroscopic characteristics of the postcolumn reagents have been addressed. The emerging strategies of using nanoparticles as thiol-reactive reagents and their applications in postcolumn detection of the LMM biothiols have also been discussed in detail.     

Clinical analysis of vitamin B(6): determination of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate and 4-pyridoxic acid in human serum by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with chlorite postcolumn derivatization

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with fluorometric detection was developed for the routine determination of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) and 4-pyridoxic acid (4-PA) in serum. Chlorite postcolumn derivatization was used to oxidize PLP to a more fluorescent carboxylic acid form. Sensitivity improved fourfold for PLP using chlorite postcolumn derivatization over traditional bisulfite postcolumn derivatization. The HPLC injection cycle was 15 min, facilitating a throughput of 60 patient samples (72 injections that included standards and quality control (QC) samples) in 18.5h. Method precision was evaluated using three serum QC pools with PLP and 4-PA concentrations of 11.5-34.8 nmol/L and 10.4-21.0 nmol/L, respectively. Within-run (n=7) repeatabilities were 0.6-1.2% for PLP and 0.9-1.8% for 4-PA. Run-to-run (n=23) reproducibilities were 3.6-6.7% for PLP and 3.7-5.6% for 4-PA. Relative detection (3sigma(0)) and quantitation (10sigma(0)) limits were 0.3 and 0.9 nmol/L, respectively, for both PLP and 4-PA using a 10-microl sample injection volume. Analytical recoveries ranged from 97 to 102%. Patient-matched serum and plasma specimens (n=25) were analyzed to evaluate specimen-type bias. Of the plasma types evaluated, heparinized plasma introduced the lowest relative bias for PLP (-5.3%) and minimal bias for 4-PA (-2.3%) compared with serum. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) plasma showed the lowest bias for 4-PA (0.7%) but a relatively high bias for PLP (13.0%) due to a chromatographic interference. Human serum samples from a non-representative population subset (n=303) were commensurate with values published for other vitamin B(6) HPLC methods. These values gave geometric means of 42.4 nmol/L for PLP and 27.3 nmol/L for 4-PA. Medians for PLP and 4-PA were 40.1 and 21.8 nmol/L, respectively. The high sensitivity, precision, and throughput of this method, combined with its minimal serum specimen (150 microl) and sample injection (10 microl) volume requirements, make it well suited for routine clinical vitamin B(6) analysis.     

A Highly Sensitive Assay for Histamine Using Ion-Pair HPLC Coupled with Postcolumn Fluorescent Derivatization: Its Application to Biological Specimens

A simple and highly sensitive method for the determination of histamine (HA) was developed using ion-pair, reversed-phase HPLC coupled with postcolumn o-phthalaldehyde derivatization fluorometry, and it was applied to the unpurified extracts of human and rat plasma, and brains of rats and mice. The HA concentrations both in the plasma and brains determined by the present method were well consistent with the values obtained by cation-exchange HPLC with postcolumn fluorescent derivatization currently in use. The present method was more advantageous than the assay using cation-exchange HPLC: (1) it was three to four times more sensitive (the detection limit was 0.5 pg of HA), and (2) it enabled the measurement of HA in samples containing (R)alpha-methylhistamine, a potent and specific H3-receptor agonist, which could not be separated from HA by cation-exchange chromatography. Using the present method coupled with intracerebral microdialysis, we found in the rat hypothalamus that (R)alpha-methylhistamine (5 mg/kg i.p.) markedly decreased the extracellular concentration of HA with a maximal effect (83% reduction) during 30-60 min after injection, suggesting that most of HA in the microdialysate fraction is neuronal in origin.     

Determination of methylguanidine in plasma and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection following postcolumn derivatization

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the determination of methylguanidine in biological fluids. Methylguanidine and the internal standard were isolated from plasma by cation-exchange solid-phase extraction prior to chromatographic analysis. Urine samples were diluted and injected directly onto the analytical column. Chromatographic separation was carried out on an Ultrasil cation-exchange column using a mixture of methanol and monochloroacetate (15/85, v/v) as the mobile phase. Postcolumn derivatization of methylguanidine was carried out using alkaline ninhydrin reagent and the resulting fluorescent product was detected on-line. The method was specific, sensitive, reproducible, and linear over a wide a range of concentrations. The lower limit of detection for methylguanidine in plasma and urine was 1 and 100 ng/ml, respectively. The method was successfully employed for quantification of the levels of methylguanidine in normal and uremic human subjects, normal dogs, and dogs with ischemic-induced acute or spontaneous chronic renal failure.     

Deamidation and succinimide formation by gamma-N-methylasparagine: potential pitfalls of amino acid analysis

The biological function of the post-translationally methylated amino acid gamma-N-methylasparagine (gamma-NMA) in proteins is unknown. We are examining the premise that amide methylation protects against deamidation. The free amino acids Asn, gamma-NMA, Gln, and delta-N-methylglutamine (delta-NMG) were incubated at elevated temperature and a variety of pH conditions to assay for deamidation. Gln disappears 12- to 14-fold more rapidly than delta-NMG, and Asn hydrolyzes to Asp and NH3 as expected. However, the gamma-NMA deamidation rate is severely overestimated by simply measuring the disappearance of starting material because gamma-NMA undergoes a cyclization reaction in preference to deamidation. At pH 1 the predominant gamma-NMA reaction is formation of stable 3-amino-N-methylsuccinimide (NMS) and this occurs greater than 10-fold faster than Asn deamidation. At pH 4.0, 7.4, and 9.0 NMS is readily formed but it is unstable and partitions between the parent compound, gamma-NMA, and a second species, alpha-N-methylasparagine. At pH 7.4 and 9.0 gamma-NMA disappears 4-fold slower than Asn but the methyl amide hydrolysis rate is diminished by as much as 13-fold. The Asn incubations over the pH range 1-9 yield scant evidence of a succinimide intermediate. It is concluded that the amide methylation provides a unique reaction pathway and stabilization for the N-methylsuccinimide species. Amino acid analysis by o-phthalaldehyde postcolumn reaction fails to detect isoasparagine, alpha-N-methylasparagine, and NMS. Amino acid analysis by precolumn derivatization with phenyl isothiocyanate destroys NMS and therefore cannot quantitate this compound. The ninhydrin postcolumn derivatization method is able to detect and quantitate all of these amino acid species.     

Simplified cysteine dioxygenase activity assay allows simultaneous quantitation of both substrate and product

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for enzyme activity assays using a hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) column in combination with an evaporative light scattering detector was developed. The method was used to measure the activity of the non-heme mono-iron enzyme cysteine dioxygenase. The substrate cysteine and the product cysteine sulfinic acid are very weak chromophores, making direct ultraviolet (UV) detection without derivatization rather insensitive; moreover, derivatization of cysteine is often not efficient. Using the system described, underivatized substrate and product in samples from cysteine dioxygenase activity assays could be separated and analyzed. Furthermore, it was possible to quantify cysteic acid, the noncatalytic oxidation product of cysteine sulfinic acid. Acetone was used both to stop the enzymatic reaction by protein precipitation and as an organic mobile phase, making sample preparation very easy and the assay highly reproducible.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of 6-aminopenicillanic acid by postcolumn alkaline degradation

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of 6-aminopenicillanic acid in amino acid mixtures and human serum. The separation of 6-aminopenicillanic acid was carried out on a C18 column using sodium heptylsulfonate or tetrabutylammonium bromide as an ion-pairing agent and methanol as an organic mobile phase modifier. Detection was based on a postcolumn reaction with sodium hydroxide, mercury(II) chloride, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt followed by measurement of ultraviolet absorbance (at 300 nm) of the reaction product(s). The method is quantitative for 6-aminopenicillanic acid concentrations down to 0.1 microgram/ml in human serum samples with a 20-microliter injection. At a concentration of 2 micrograms/ml, the within- and between-run precisions (relative standard deviation) were 1.29-3.91% and 2.30%, respectively.     

Reversed-phase ion-pair chromatography of straight- and branched-chain dicarboxylic acids in urine as their 2-nitrophenylhydrazides

The derivatization of urinary dicarboxylic acids with 2-nitrophenylhydrazine hydrochloride produced corresponding monohydrazides, which were separated from monocarboxylic acid hydrazides by two step extraction with ethyl acetate at different pH values. Monohydrazides of 11 straight- and branched-chain dicarboxylic acids were eluted isocratically on reversed-phase ion-pair chromatography within 24 min by the combination of pH, the polarity of mobile phase, and the size of counter ion. The analytical results showed good recovery and reproducibility using 3,3-dimethyglutaric acid as an internal standard. The present method provides a notable HPLC method with precolumn derivatization for the analysis of urinary dicarboxylic acids.     

Stable isotope-coded quaternization for comparative quantification of estrogen metabolites by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

A fast and sensitive LC-ESI-MS method is described for the comparative quantification of 16 estrogen metabolites based on the derivatization of estrogens with a novel derivatizing reagent, N-methyl-nicotinic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ester (C1-NA-NHS). The process introduces a quaternary amine to the analytes, making the analytes permanently charged regardless of the pH of the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) mobile phase. This quaternization resulted in a highly efficient separation of 16 estrogen metabolites in 7 min at a detection level below 1 ng/mL. By using a deuterated derivatizing reagent (C1-d(3)-NA-NHS), a complete set of deuterated standards was utilized and used as internal standards in a comparative quantification and recovery study, demonstrating acceptable results over a wide concentration range. A pooled breast cancer serum sample was analyzed using the described method, and 15 estrogens were detected in the range of 80-530 pg/mL.     

The use of fluorescamine as a detection reagent in protein microcharacterization

With recent advances in protein microchemistry, compatible methods for the preparation and quantitation of proteins and peptides are required. Fluorescamine, a reagent which reacts with primary amino groups has been used successfully to detect amino acids, peptides, and proteins in various micromethods. This article discusses these methods which include (1) amino acid analysis of protein and peptide hydrolysates with postcolumn fluorescamine derivatization; (2) purification and characterization of proteins and peptides by reversed-phase HPLC with postcolumn fluorescamine derivatization; (3) purification of peptides by two-dimensional chromatography and electrophoresis on thin-layer cellulose with fluorescamine staining; and (4) electroblotting of protein bands from SDS-PAGE to glass fiber filters and polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membranes with fluorescamine staining. In addition, this article also compares a postcolumn fluorescamine detection system with a UV detection system in the applications of amino acid analysis and reversed-phase HPLC protein/peptide analysis.     

Total plasma homocysteine determination by liquid chromatography before and after methionine loading: Results in cerebrovascular disease

Elevated homocysteine (HCY) levels in tissues and blood are associated with premature occlusive diseases. A number of techniques have been developed to assay HCY, including high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorimetric or electrochemical detection, and radioenzymatic methods. The present study evaluated the adaptation of a liquid chromatographic, ion-exchange technique with postcolumn derivatization using ninhydrin. Fasting and moreover post-methionine load total plasma HCY were assayed in 50 patients three months after a stroke and in 20 age-matched controls. Ion-exchange liquid chromatography was performed on an amino acid analyzer using a modified procedure to improve methionine and HCY separation. HCY values in the fasting state were moderately but significantly increased (P<0.05) in the patients compared to the controls: 10.5±3.4 versus 9.3±2.3 μmol/l. The difference between the two groups was amplified in post-load HCY results, which were significantly increased (P<0.05) in the patients: 41.6±17.8 versus 29.2±5.5 μmol/l in controls. The relationship between cerebrovascular disease and impaired HCY metabolism has previously been emphasized by other investigators. Our findings suggest that certain inherited and/or acquired HCY disorders observed in the fasting state (14%) and especially in post-methionine load conditions (32%) may occur during acute disease, and that total plasma HCY can be determined by ion-exchange chromatography even after oral methionine loading.     

Determination of cystamine by high-performance liquid chromatography

A highly sensitive and specific assay method for cystamine using high-performance liquid chromatography has been developed. The method is based on postcolumn derivatization of cystamine with o-phthaladehyde in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol and sodium hypochlorite. The separation of cystamine was achieved using a cation exchange column (ISC-05/S0504). The assay was linear over the concentration range of 2 to 200 pmol. For the application of this assay method to biological materials, the pretreatment with a cation exchange column (Dowex 50W X 8) was necessary to remove interfering o-phthaladehyde-reactive substances. Since cysteamine in biological materials was quantitatively converted to cystamine during these sampling procedures, this method was found to be suitable for assaying the cysteamine plus cystamine content in various organs and tissues. The cysteamine-cystamine content in various tissues of rat determined by the present assay method has been presented.     

High-performance liquid chromatography determination of N- and O-demethylase activities of chemicals in human liver microsomes: application of postcolumn fluorescence derivatization using Nash reagent

Formaldehyde is liberated in the process of cytochrome P450 (CYP) mediated demethylation of a wide variety of compounds containing the CH(3)N or CH(3)O functionality. A highly sensitive method using a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system with postcolumn derivatization was developed to measure the liberated formaldehyde as N- and O-demethylase activity of drugs in human liver microsomes. Following the chromatographic separation of formaldehyde on a C18 column, the formaldehyde was reacted with the Nash reagent in the postcolumn reactor at 100 degrees C and detected by the fluorescence method. The results showed that the present method has excellent precision and accuracy. The intra- and interassay variances of this method were less than 10%. The newly developed HPLC method was found to be about 80-fold more sensitive than the colorimetric method in detection of formaldehyde. The N-demethylase activity of sertraline in rat liver microsomes determined by the present method did not differ from those detected by previous methods quantifying produced desmethyl metabolite. The present method has been successfully applied to determine the N-demethylase activities of several drugs, including aminopyrine, erythromycin, fluoxetine, S-mephenytoin, and sertraline, in human liver microsomes. This assay should be useful for generic analysis of N- and O-demethylase activities of xenobiotic and endobiotic chemicals by CYP enzymes.     

Assay of inorganic sulfate in biologic fluids by nonsuppressed (single-column) ion chromatography

An assay using nonsuppressed (single-column) anion chromatography was developed to determine the concentration of inorganic sulfate in biologic fluids. A conventional HPLC system with an anion-exchange column and conductimetric detector interfaced with an automatic injector and integrator was used. The mobile phase for the chromatography of urine and serum samples is 4 mM potassium hydrogen phthalate, pH 4.5, and potassium iodide is used as the internal standard. For cerebrospinal fluid samples, the mobile phase is modified by addition of 10% of a 4 mM phthalic acid solution. Results of the HPLC assay were found to correlate well (r = 0.991 and 0.999) with those of two commonly used spectrophotometric methods for urine and serum inorganic sulfate determinations. However, the concentrations determined by ion chromatography were 2.5 to 10% lower, possibly due to less assay interference by other substances following chromatographic separation of sulfate. Anion chromatography using a single-column system is a convenient and relatively inexpensive method with sufficient sensitivity for the determination of inorganic sulfate concentrations in urine, serum, and cerebrospinal fluid.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of tazobactam by precolumn derivatization

A new reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method for the detection and quantification of tazobactam in serum and haemofiltration fluid is described. The assay for these biological fluids involves an extraction with diethyl ether followed by derivatization using 1,2,4-triazole. The mobile phase consisted of phosphate buffer-methanol and the detection wavelength was 325 nm. The limit of detection was 0.05 μg/ml in the two fluids and the calibration curves were linear over the range 0.1–50 μg/ml. For a tazobactam concentration equal to 1, 5 or 20 μg ml⁻¹, the coefficients of variation were less than 5%. The assay was successfully applied to the analysis of samples from drug monitoring in a patient with renal insufficiency undergoing continuous venovenous haemofiltration (CVVH).