Chiral Amino Acid Analysis Using a Single Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer

User Benefits

- Separation with a chiral column enables direct analysis of chiral amino acids without pretreatment by derivatization. - By using a high-performance single quadrupole LC-MS system, even trace quantities of d-amino acids can be detected in foods and cosmetics.

Introduction

Of the 20 types of amino acids included in proteins, optical isomers exist for all but glycine. Most naturally occurring amino acids are l-amino acids, but advancements in analytical technology have revealed the presence of d-amino acids in many organisms. It is also becoming evident that d-amino acids have different physiological functions than l-amino acids. Consequently, d-amino acids perform attracted attention in basic research related to their physiological and medical functions and for applications in the fields of food, health, and beauty. This Application News article describes using a single quadrupole LC-MS system with a crown ether-type chiral column to analyze chiral amino acids, which enables rapid analysis of chiral amino acids without derivatization pretreatment. If a comprehensive analysis of all hydrophilic metabolites that includes amino acids is required, refer also to Application News No. 01-00334-EN, which describes a useful technique for such analysis.

June 3, 2025 GMT