Developing a Chiral Amino Acid Analysis Method That Uses Column Switching

Introduction

With the exception of glycine, the 20 types of amino acids that make up proteins occur as D and L optical isomers. L-amino acids occur in large quantities in the body as protein components and sources of nutrients. As for D-amino acids, despite the fact that they are much less abundant than L-amino acids, they are attracting attention in various fields as components associated with the component analysis of fermented foods, physiological functions in the central nervous system, biomarkers, and even health and beauty. Analysis of D-amino acids is susceptible to interference by a wide variety of peptides and amino compounds, and therefore requires high sensitivity and highly selective analysis methods for accurate measurement. Furthermore, conventional optical separation analysis of amino acids necessitated derivatization and long separation times of the amino acids. This article introduces a rapid analysis method that employs chiral columns to achieve high separation and high sensitivity and that dispenses with derivatization. This system uses two types of chiral columns alternately with high-pressure column switching valves (FCV) and allows fully automatic analysis of a wide range of D- and L-amino acids.

April 27, 2017 GMT