Author(s)

Daigo Iwahata, Kazuki Nakamura, Rie Yamada, Hiroshi Miyano, Naoyuki Yamada

Institute for Innovation, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., Kawasaki, Japan.

We have developed a novel metal tag, bis(ethylenediamine)-4'-methyl-4-carboxybipyridine-ruthenium N-succinimidyl ester (ECRS) for sensitive analysis of amino acids using high performance liquid chromatography/inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC/ICP-MS). ECRS is a functional reagent, containing an ester group at one end that can be activated to bind to amino group and a chelated ruthenium at the other. The activated ester was reacted briefly with amino groups under weakly alkaline conditions. The ruthenium was detected sensitively by ICP-MS. ECRS was reacted with 17 proteinogenic amino acids in borate buffer. The derivatives were separated by reversed phase HPLC and identified by quadrupole-based ICP-MS. ECRS was suitable for speciation; low molecular weight compounds containing amino groups. We have thus established a quantitative analytical method for amino acids and dipeptides. The detection limits of branched amino acids (signal-to-noise ratio of 3) were 1.5 nmol·L^-1 in the standard solution (100 amol per injection).

Metal Tag; HPLC/ICP-MS; Amino Acid; Dipeptide; Derivatization; Speciation

Iwahata, D. , Nakamura, K. , Yamada, R. , Miyano, H. and Yamada, N. (2013) A New Metal Tag for Highly Selective and Sensitive Analyses of Amino Acids and Dipeptides by HPLC/ICP-MS. Journal of Analytical Sciences, Methods and Instrumentation, 3, 80-89. doi: 10.4236/jasmi.2013.32010.