Variable fragmentation and ionization of amyloid-beta epimers and isomers

While the existence of D-amino acids in peptides and proteins has recently been accepted in higher forms of life, their roles and importance are yet to be understood. The lack of analytical methods present for such epimeric and/or isomeric analyses often limits developments in the field. Studies have shown the elevated presence of epimeric and isomeric modifications to amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides extracted from Alzheimer's disease patients. These modifications most frequently occur through aspartic acid and serine residues. Because such peptides are indistinguishable by mass alone, selective liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry analysis is required to differentiate such peptides. Herein, we examine MS/MS of tryptic fragments of Aβ peptides containing D-Asp, L-iso-Asp, D-iso-Asp, and/or D-Ser modifications. Peptide ionizability and fragmentation are explored through selected reaction monitoring, selected ion monitoring, and product ion scan. The results show the variability of ionization and fragmentation for many "identical mass peptides" and how these differences can affect the analysis of isomeric and epimeric peptides.

Chiral secondary amino acids, their importance, and methods of analysis

Naturally occurring secondary amino acids, with proline as the main representative, contain an alpha-imino group in a cycle that is typically four-, five-, and six-membered. The unique ring structure exhibits exceptional properties-conformational rigidity, chemical stability, and specific roles in protein structure and folding. Many proline analogues have been used as valuable compounds for the study of metabolism of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells and for the synthesis of compounds with desired biological, pharmaceutical, or industrial properties. The D-forms of secondary amino acids play different roles in living organisms than the L-forms. They have different metabolic pathways, biological, physiological, and pharmacological effects, they can be indicators of changes and also serve as biomarkers of diseases. In the scientific literature, the number of articles examining D-amino acids in biological samples is increasing. The review summarises information on the occurrence and importance of D- and L-secondary amino acids-azetidic acid, proline, hydroxyprolines, pipecolic, nipecotic, hydroxypipecolic acids and related peptides containing these D-AAs, as well as the main analytical methods (mostly chromatographic) used for their enantiomeric determination in different matrices (biological samples, plants, food, water, and soil).

Monitoring of the yogurt fermentation process based on a rapid bio-luminescent chiral pattern recognition of amino acids

A luminescent bacterial sensor array was established for the discrimination of multiple chiral amino acids and the monitoring of the yogurt fermentation process.

Theoretical electronic circular dichroism investigations of chiral amino acids and development of separation and identification methods independent of standards

Through an appropriate computational protocol and environmental simulation, a satisfactory fit was observed for the theoretical electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra of 19 chiral amino acids (AAs), which correspondeds to the forms of the AAs in aqueous solution. Methods for enantioseparation of these chiral AAs by capillary electrophoresis (CE) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were developed. Combining ECD with chromatographic separation methods, enantiomers were identified and quantified independent of a single enantiomer standard.

A chiral GC-MS method for analysis of secondary amino acids after heptafluorobutyl chloroformate & methylamine derivatization

L-amino acids (L-AAs) play different important roles in the physiology of all living organisms. Their chiral counterparts, D-amino acids (D-AAs) are increasingly being recognized as essential molecules in many biological systems. Secondary amino acids with cyclic structures, such as prolines, exhibit conformational rigidity and thus unique properties in the structural and protein folding. Despite their widespread occurrence, much less attention was paid to their chiral analysis, particularly when the minor, typically D-enantiomer, is present in low amounts in a complex biological matrix. In this paper, a cost-effective, chiral GC-MS method is described for capillary Chirasil-L-Val separation of nine cyclic secondary amino acid enantiomers with four-, five-, and six-membered rings, involving azetidine-2-carboxylic acid, pipecolic acid, nipecotic acid, proline, isomeric cis/trans 3-hydroxy, 4-hydroxyproline, and cis/trans-5-hydroxy-L-pipecolic acid in the excess of its enantiomeric antipode. The sample preparation involves in-situ derivatization with heptafluorobutyl chloroformate, simultaneous liquid-liquid micro-extraction into isooctane followed by amidation of the arising low-polar derivatives with methylamine, an evaporation step, re-dissolution, and final GC-MS analysis. The developed method was used for analyses of human biofluids, biologically active peptides containing chiral proline constituents, and collagen.

Bioanalysis of drugs and their metabolites by chiral electromigration techniques (2010-2020)

The further development and application of capillary electromigration techniques for the enantioselective determination of drugs and their metabolites in body fluids, tissues, and in vitro preparations during the 2010 to 2020 time period continued to proof their usefulness and attractiveness in bioanalysis. This review discusses the principles and important aspects of capillary electrophoresis- based chiral drug bioassays, provides a survey of the assays reported during the past 10 years and presents an overview of the key achievements encountered in that time period. For systems with charged chiral selectors, special attention is paid on assays that feature field-amplified sample injection to enable the determination of ppb levels of analytes and optimized online incubation procedures for the rapid assessment of a metabolic pathway. Applications discussed encompass the pharmacokinetics of drug enantiomers in vivo and in vitro, the impact of inhibitors on metabolic steps, the elucidation of the stereoselectivity of drug metabolism in vivo and in vitro, and drug enantiomers in toxicological, forensic, and doping analysis.

Determination of phenylalanine enantiomers in the plasma and urine of mammals and ᴅ-amino acid oxidase deficient rodents using two-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatography

A two-dimensional (2D) HPLC system focusing on the determination of phenylalanine (Phe) enantiomers in mammalian physiological fluids has been developed. ᴅ-Phe is indicated to have potential values as a disease biomarker and therapeutic molecule in several neuronal and metabolic disorders, thus the regulation of ᴅ-Phe in mammals is a matter of interest. However, the precise determination of amino acid enantiomers is difficult in complex biological samples, and the development of an analytical method with practically acceptable sensitivity, selectivity and throughput is expected. In the present study, a 2D-HPLC system equipped with a reversed-phase column in the 1st dimension and an enantioselective column in the 2nd dimension has been designed, following the fluorescence derivatization of the target amino acid enantiomers with 4-fluoro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD-F). The analytical method was validated using both plasma and urine samples, and successfully applied to human, rat and mouse fluids. Trace levels of ᴅ-Phe were determined in the plasma, and the %ᴅ values were around 0.1% for all species. In the urine, relatively large amounts of ᴅ-Phe were observed, and the %ᴅ values for humans, rats and mice were 3.99, 1.76 and 5.25%, respectively. The relationships between the enzymatic activity of ᴅ-amino acid oxidase (DAO) and the amounts of intrinsic ᴅ-Phe have also been clarified, and high ᴅ-Phe amounts were observed (around 0.3% in the plasma and around 50% in the urine) in the DAO deficient rats and mice.

Stereospecificity control in aminoacyl-tRNA-synthetases: new evidence of d-amino acids activation and editing

The homochirality of amino acids is vital for the functioning of the translation apparatus. l-Amino acids predominate in proteins and d-amino acids usually represent diverse regulatory functional physiological roles in both pro- and eukaryotes. Aminoacyl-tRNA-synthetases (aaRSs) ensure activation of proteinogenic or nonproteinogenic amino acids and attach them to cognate or noncognate tRNAs. Although many editing mechanisms by aaRSs have been described, data about the protective role of aaRSs in d-amino acids incorporation remained unknown. Tyrosyl- and alanyl-tRNA-synthetases were represented as distinct members of this enzyme family. To study the potential to bind and edit noncognate substrates, Thermus thermophilus alanyl-tRNA-synthetase (AlaRS) and tyrosyl-tRNA-synthetase were investigated in the context of d-amino acids recognition. Here, we showed that d-alanine was effectively activated by AlaRS and d-Ala-tRNAAla, formed during the erroneous aminoacylation, was edited by AlaRS. On the other hand, it turned out that d-aminoacyl-tRNA-deacylase (DTD), which usually hydrolyzes d-aminoacyl-tRNAs, was inactive against d-Ala-tRNAAla. To support the finding about DTD, computational docking and molecular dynamics simulations were run. Overall, our work illustrates the novel function of the AlaRS editing domain in stereospecificity control during translation together with trans-editing factor DTD. Thus, we propose different evolutionary strategies for the maintenance of chiral selectivity during translation.

Chiral micellar electrokinetic chromatographic separation for determination of L- and D-primary amines released from murine islets of Langerhans

D-amino acids have been located in various tissues including the endocrine portion of the pancreas, the islets of Langerhans. D-Serine (D-Ser), is of particular interest since it is an agonist for the ionotropic N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors. To examine the potential release of D-Ser and other D-amino acids from islets, a chiral micellar electrokinetic chromatography method was developed by derivatizing primary amines with 2,3-naphthalenedicarboxaldehyde and to achieve resolution of the enantiomers, two surfactants were used in the separation, sodium dodecyl sulfate and sodium deoxycholate. With the optimized conditions, 7 of 13 enantiomeric pairs that were tested had greater than baseline resolution, while the resolution of numerous other L-amino acids and small molecules were maintained. For the 17 compounds that were fully resolved, limits of detection were less than 10 nM. The resulting optimized separation method produced high efficiency peaks, with an average of 300,000 theoretical plates per peak and a peak capacity of 120. The method was used to examine the release of small molecules from groups of 50 murine islets of Langerhans. A peak was detected from islets incubated with 20 mM glucose that co-migrated with a D-Ser standard, although its level was below the quantifiable limit.

Mechanistic insights into the slow peptide bond formation with D-amino acids in the ribosomal active site

During protein synthesis, ribosomes discriminate chirality of amino acids and prevent incorporation of D-amino acids into nascent proteins by slowing down the rate of peptide bond formation. Despite this phenomenon being known for nearly forty years, no structures have ever been reported that would explain the poor reactivity of D-amino acids. Here we report a 3.7Å-resolution crystal structure of a bacterial ribosome in complex with a D-aminoacyl-tRNA analog bound to the A site. Although at this resolution we could not observe individual chemical groups, we could unambiguously define the positions of the D-amino acid side chain and the amino group based on chemical restraints. The structure reveals that similarly to L-amino acids, the D-amino acid binds the ribosome by inserting its side chain into the ribosomal A-site cleft. This binding mode does not allow optimal nucleophilic attack of the peptidyl-tRNA by the reactive α-amino group of a D-amino acid. Also, our structure suggests that the D-amino acid cannot participate in hydrogen-bonding with the P-site tRNA that is required for the efficient proton transfer during peptide bond formation. Overall, our work provides the first mechanistic insight into the ancient mechanism that helps living cells ensure the stereochemistry of protein synthesis.

D-Glutamate is metabolized in the heart mitochondria

_D-Amino acids are enantiomers of L-amino acids and have recently been recognized as biomarkers and bioactive substances in mammals, including humans. In the present study, we investigated functions of the novel mammalian mitochondrial protein 9030617O03Rik and showed decreased expression under conditions of heart failure. Genomic sequence analyses showed partial homology with a bacterial aspartate/glutamate/hydantoin racemase. Subsequent determinations of all free amino acid concentrations in 9030617O03Rik-deficient mice showed high accumulations of D-glutamate in heart tissues. This is the first time that a significant amount of D-glutamate was detected in mammalian tissue. Further analysis of D-glutamate metabolism indicated that 9030617O03Rik is a D-glutamate cyclase that converts D-glutamate to 5-oxo-D-proline. Hence, this protein is the first identified enzyme responsible for mammalian D-glutamate metabolism, as confirmed in cloning analyses. These findings suggest that D-glutamate and 5-oxo-D-proline have bioactivities in mammals through the metabolism by D-glutamate cyclase.

Moss Chloroplasts Are Surrounded by a Peptidoglycan Wall Containing D-Amino Acids

It is believed that the plastids in green plants lost peptidoglycan (i.e., a bacterial cell wall-containing d-amino acids) during their evolution from an endosymbiotic cyanobacterium. Although wall-like structures could not be detected in the plastids of green plants, the moss Physcomitrella patens has the genes required to generate peptidoglycan (Mur genes), and knocking out these genes causes defects in chloroplast division. Here, we generated P patens knockout lines (∆Pp-ddl) for a homolog of the bacterial peptidoglycan-synthetic gene encoding d-Ala:d-Ala ligase. ∆Pp-ddl had a macrochloroplast phenotype, similar to other Mur knockout lines. The addition of d-Ala-d-Ala (DA-DA) to the medium suppressed the appearance of giant chloroplasts in ∆Pp-ddl, but the addition of l-Ala-l-Ala (LA-LA), DA-LA, LA-DA, or d-Ala did not. Recently, a metabolic method for labeling bacterial peptidoglycan was established using ethynyl-DA-DA (EDA-DA) and click chemistry to attach an azide-modified fluorophore to the ethynyl group. The ∆Pp-ddl line complemented with EDA-DA showed that moss chloroplasts are completely surrounded by peptidoglycan. Our findings strongly suggest that the moss plastids have a peptidoglycan wall containing d-amino acids. By contrast, no plastid phenotypes were observed in the T-DNA tagged ddl mutant lines of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Method development for the determination of D- and L-isomers of leucine in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and its application to animal plasma samples

We developed a highly sensitive and specific high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method with an electrospray ionization for the determination of D- and L-isomers of leucine in human plasma. Phosphate-buffered saline was used as the surrogate matrix for preparation of calibration curves and quality control samples. The extraction of D- and L-leucine in plasma samples (100 μL) was performed using cationic exchange solid-phase extraction. The enantiomer separation of D- and L-leucine was successfully achieved without derivatization using a CHIRALPAK ZWIX(-) with an isocratic mobile phase comprised of methanol/acetonitrile/1 mol/L ammonium formate/formic acid (500:500:25:2, v/v/v/v) at a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min. In addition, the discrimination of DL-leucine from structural isomers DL-isoleucine and DL-allo-isoleucine was performed using the unique precursor and product ion pair transition of DL-leucine (m/z 132.1 > 43.0) and DL-leucine-d 7 (m/z 139.2 > 93.0) in positive electrospray ionization mode. The standard curves were linear throughout the calibration range from 0.001 to 1 μg/mL for D-leucine and from 1 to 1000 μg/mL for L-leucine, respectively, with acceptable intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy. The stability of D- and L-leucine in human plasma and solvents was confirmed. The endogenous level of D- and L-leucine in human plasma was 0.00197~0.00591 and 9.63~24.7 μg/mL, respectively. This method was also successfully applied to investigate the species difference in the ratios of D-leucine to total leucine from individual plasma concentrations in humans and various animals. The plasma D-leucine concentrations or their ratio to total leucine in rodents was much higher than that in humans.

Optimal excitation and emission wavelengths to analyze amino acids and optimize neurotransmitters quantification using precolumn OPA-derivatization by HPLC

We describe an analytical methodology to obtain high sensitivity and better resolution through the study of fluorometric excitation (λex) and emission (λem) spectrum wavelengths of OPA-amino acids. The spectrum emission study revealed a maximum signal peak at 450 nm for aspartate and glutamine. For glycine, taurine, and GABA, the maximum signal peak was at 448 and for glutamate at 452 nm. The remaining amino acids analyzed showed a maximum emission around 450 nm. The best signal obtained within the spectrum excitation experiments was using 229- to 450-nm λex-λem. The drawbacks observed at these wavelengths were a baseline drift and negative peaks occurrence. Thus, the excitation wavelength of 240 nm was chosen (240- to 450-nm λex-λem) as a compromise between a very good signal response and a baseline stability to resolve the 18 amino acids studied. Furthermore, this protocol was properly validated. On the other hand, the elution gradient program used for neuroactive amino acids (aspartate, glutamate, glycine, taurine and GABA) showed separation to the baseline, in a 15-min run in all of them. Other amino acids, up to 18, also exhibited a very good separation in a 25-min run. In conclusion, we propose the use of 240- to 450-nm λex-λem wavelengths, in OPA-amino acids analysis, as the most suitable protocol to obtain the best signal response, maintaining an optimum chromatographic resolution.

Chiral analysis of amino acid neurotransmitters and neuromodulators in mouse brain by CE-LIF

Chiral CE method has been developed for quantitative determination of d-amino acid modulators of NMDA glutamate receptor; d-serine and d-aspartate along with l-glutamate and l-aspartate in biological samples. These ligands are suggested to be involved in regulation of NMDA receptor related brain functions, such as neurogenesis, neuronal plasticity, and memory formation. For sensitive determination of the amino acids LIF detection was chosen, and a fluorogenic reagent, 7-fluoro-4-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole was used for derivatization. An amino-modified β-CD, 6-monodeoxy-6-mono(3-hydroxy)propylamino-β-CD (HPA-β-CD) was applied as chiral selector. Determinations were accomplished in a polyacrylamide coated capillary and reverse polarity was used for the analysis of the negatively charged analytes. The method was optimized and validated; 6 mM HPA-β-CD in 50 mM HEPES buffer, pH 7 was appropriate to achieve baseline separation of the analytes. The limit of quantification with acceptable accuracy is 0.05 μM for both d-amino acids. The method was used for the determination of d-aspartate and d-serine content in various brain regions of adult mice.

Molecularly imprinted photonic crystals for the direct label-free distinguishing of L-proline and D-proline

Novel molecularly imprinted photonic crystals (IPCs) for the highly sensitive label-free detection of L-proline and for the chiral recognition of L/D-proline were reported. A series of L-proline imprinted polyacrylamide photonic crystals (PAM-LPIPCs) and poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) photonic crystals (PAM-co-AA-LPIPCs) were fabricated via the in situ polymerization of polystyrene opal. The PAM-LPIPCs exhibit good molecular response in L-proline solutions and can be visualized by the naked eye much like a pH test paper. The concentration of imprinted molecules (L-proline) in aqueous solution can be detected by the chromatic signal (structural color) or the optical signal (λmax). Furthermore, the responsivity and sensitivity of the PAM-co-AA-LPIPCs can be improved by increasing the amount of the imprinted content or the proportion of AA, or by decreasing the ratio of the cross-linking agent. When all these factors were balanced, a PAM2-co-AA0.4-LP0.5 IPC with good strength, high responsivity, high sensitivity and specific molecular recognition was obtained. It is found that the presented crystals can show obvious response to L-proline solution even at a low concentration of 1%. The PAM2-co-AA0.4-LP0.5 IPC not only very selectively distinguishes between L-proline and nicotinic acid, but it is also good at chiral recognition between L-proline and D-proline. What is more, the response is rapid and reversible and the IPC is recyclable.

Chiral amino acid analysis of Japanese traditional Kurozu and the developmental changes during earthenware jar fermentation processes

Enantioselective amino acid metabolome analysis of the Japanese traditional black vinegars (amber rice vinegar, Kurozu) was performed using two-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatography combining a microbore-monolithic ODS column and narrowbore-enantioselective columns. d-Amino acids, the enantiomers of widely observed l-amino acids, are currently paid attention as novel physiologically active substances, and the foodstuffs and beverages containing high amounts of d-amino acids are the subjects of interest. In the present study, the amino acid enantiomers were determined by two-dimensional HPLC techniques after pre-column fluorescence derivatization with 4-fluoro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole. In the first dimension, the amino acid enantiomers are separated as their d plus l mixtures by the reversed-phase mode, then the d-amino acids and their l-counterparts are separately determined in the second dimension by the enantioselective columns. As a result, large amounts of d-Ala (800-4000nmol/mL), d-Asp (200-400nmol/mL) and d-Glu (150-500nmol/mL) were observed in some of the traditionally produced Kurozu vinegars. Relatively large or small amounts of d-Ser (50-100nmol/mL), d-Leu (10-50nmol/mL) and d-allo-Ile (less than 20nmol/mL) were also present in these samples. Developmental changes in the d-amino acid amounts during the fermentation and aging processes have also been investigated.

Chiral capillary electromigration techniques-mass spectrometry-hope and promise

Analytical methods for chiral compounds require a separation step prior to mass spectrometric detection. CE can separate enantiomers by the use of a chiral selector and can be hyphenated with MS. The chiral selector can be either embedded inside the capillary (electrochromatography) or added into the background solution (EKC). This review describes the fundamentals and highlights the recent developments (September 2009-May 2013) of chiral CEC and EKC with detection using MS. There were 20 research and more than 30 review papers during this period. The research efforts were driven by fundamental studies, such as the development of novel chiral selectors in electrochromatography and of advanced partial filling techniques in EKC in order to optimise separation. Other developments were in application studies, such as in food analytics and metabolomics.

Alteration of intrinsic amounts of D-serine in the mice lacking serine racemase and D-amino acid oxidase

For elucidation of the regulation mechanisms of intrinsic amounts of D-serine (D-Ser) which modulates the neuro-transmission of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in the brain, mutant animals lacking serine racemase (SRR) and D-amino acid oxidase (DAO) were established, and the amounts of D-Ser in the tissues and physiological fluids were determined. D-Ser amounts in the frontal brain areas were drastically decreased followed by reduced SRR activity. On the other hand, a moderate but significant decrease in D-Ser amounts was observed in the cerebellum and spinal cord of SRR knock-out (SRR(-/-)) mice compared with those of control mice, although the amounts of D-Ser in these tissues were low. The amounts of D-Ser in the brain and serum were not altered with aging. To clarify the uptake of exogenous D-Ser into the brain tissues, we have determined the D-Ser of SRR(-/-) mice after oral administration of D-Ser for the first time, and a drastic increase in D-Ser amounts in all the tested tissues was observed. Because both DAO and SRR are present in some brain areas, we have established the double mutant mice lacking SRR and DAO for the first time, and the contribution of both enzymes to the intrinsic D-Ser amounts was investigated. In the frontal brain, most of the intrinsic D-Ser was biosynthesized by SRR. On the other hand, half of the D-Ser present in the hindbrain was derived from the biosynthesis by SRR. These results indicate that the regulation of intrinsic D-Ser amounts is different depending on the tissues and provide useful information for the development of treatments for neuronal diseases.

Chiral separation and determination of excitatory amino acids in brain samples by CE-LIF using dual cyclodextrin system

Chiral capillary electrophoresis method has been developed to separate aspartate and glutamate enantiomers to investigate the putative neuromodulator function of D-Asp in the central nervous system. To achieve appropriate detection sensitivity fluorescent derivatization with 4-fluoro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole and laser-induced fluorescence detection was applied. Although, simultaneous baseline separation of the two enantiomer pairs could be achieved by using 3 mM 6-monodeoxy-6-mono(3-hydroxy)propylamino-β-cyclodextrin (HPA-β-CD), further improvement of the chemical selectivity was required because of the high excess of L-enantiomers in real samples to be analyzed. The system selectivity was fine-tuned by combination of 8 mM heptakis(2,6-di-O-methyl)-β-cyclodextrin and 5 mM HPA-β-CD in order to increase the resolution between aspartate and glutamate enantiomers. The method was validated for biological application. The limits of detection for D-Asp and D-Glu were 17 and 9 nM, respectively, while the limit of quantification for both analytes was 50 nM. This is the lowest quantification limit reported so far for NBD-tagged D-Asp and D-Glu obtained by validated capillary electrophoresis laser-induced fluorescence method. The applicability of the method was demonstrated by analyzing brain samples of 1-day-old chickens. In all the studied brain areas, the D-enantiomer contributed 1-2 % of the total aspartate content, corresponding to 17-45 nmol/g wet tissue.

Chemo- and enantio-selective method for the analysis of amino acids by capillary electrophoresis with in-capillary derivatization

A novel dual chiral CE method was developed for the separation of l- and d-amino acids (AAs), using in-capillary derivatization with 9-fluoroenylmethyl chloroformate (FMOC). Firstly, using pre-column derivatization, the enantioseparation of FMOC-AAs was optimized according to the nature of cyclodextrins (CD). A background electrolyte (BGE) composed of 30 mM β-CD, 30 mM octakis(2,3-dihydroxy-6-O-sulfo)-γ-CD (OS-γ-CD), 40 mM tetraborate and 15% isopropanol (IPA) was selected and led to 17 baseline resolved pairs (R(s)=1.7-5.8) and two partially resolved pairs (Lys, R(s)=0.5 and Arg, R(s)=1.2). Experimental conditions for in-capillary derivatization were then optimized. Several parameters, such as mixing voltage and time, concentration of labeling solution and the length of the spacer plug were studied. The optimal conditions for in-capillary derivatization procedure were obtained using successive hydrodynamic injections (30 mbar) of AAs for 2s, borate buffer for 4s and 10mM FMOC solution for 6s, followed by a mixing at 3 kV for 72 s and wait time of 1 min. Moreover, a particular attention was paid to improve separation chemoselectivity. The effect on stereoselectivity and chemoselectivity of different factors, such as decrease of pH and tetraborate concentration and the addition of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), was investigated using the in-capillary derivatization procedure. The best separation of a standard mixture of ten AA racemates was observed using a BGE containing 30 mM β-CD, 30 mM OS-γ-CD, 25 mM SDS, 40 mM sodium tetraborate and 17% IPA.

Recentchiral selectors for separation in HPLC and CE

Enantiomers (stereoisomers) can exhibit substantially different properties if present in chiral environments. Since chirality is a basic property of nature, the different behaviors of the individual enantiomers must be carefully studied and properly treated. Therefore, enantioselective separations are a very important part of separation science. To achieve the separation of enantiomers, an enantioselective environment must be created by the addition of a chiral selector to the separation system. Many chiral selectors have been designed and used in various fields, such as the analyses of drugs, food constituents and agrochemicals. The most popular have become the chiral selectors and/or chiral stationary phases that are of general use, i.e., are applicable in various separation systems and allow for chiral separation of structurally different compounds. This review covers the most important chiral selectors / chiral stationary phases described and applied in high performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis during the period of the last three years (2008–2011).

Investigation of enzymatic hydrolysis conditions on the properties of protein hydrolysate from fish muscle (Collichthys niveatus) and evaluation of its functional properties

This study was carried out to investigate the enzymatic hydrolysis conditions on the properties of protein hydrolysate from fish muscle of the marine fish species Collichthys niveatus. About 160 fish samples were tested, and the analyzed fish species was found to be a lean fish with low fat (1.77 ± 0.01%) and high protein (16.76 ± 1.21%). Fish muscle of C. niveatus was carefully collected and hydrolyzed with four commercial enzymes: Alcalase, Neutrase, Protamex, and Flavourzyme under the conditions recommended by the manufacturers. Among the tested proteases, Neutrase catalyzed the hydrolysis process most effectively since the hydrolysate generated by Neutrase has the highest content of sweet and umami taste amino acids (SUA). The effect of hydrolysis conditions was further optimized using response surface methodology (RSM), and the optimum values for temperature, pH, and enzyme/substrate ratio (E/S ratio) were found to be 40.7 °C, 7.68, and 0.84%, respectively. Finally, the amino acid composition of the hydrolysate was analyzed by AccQ·Tag derivatization and HPLC-PDA determination. Major amino acids of the muscle of C. niveatus were threonine, glutamic acid, phenyalanine, tryptophan, and lysine, accounting for respectively 10.92%, 10.85%, 10.79%, 9.86%, and 9.76% of total amino acid content. The total content of essential amino acids was 970.7 ng·mL(-1), while that of nonessential amino acids was 709.1 ng·mL(-1). The results suggest that the fish muscle and its protein hydrolysate from C. niveatus provide a versatile supply of the benefits and can be incorporated as supplements in health-care foods.

Recent approaches in sensitive enantioseparations by CE

The latest strategies and instrumental improvements for enhancing the detection sensitivity in chiral analysis by CE are reviewed in this work. Following the previous reviews by García-Ruiz et al. (Electrophoresis 2006, 27, 195-212) and Sánchez-Hernández et al. (Electrophoresis 2008, 29, 237-251; Electrophoresis 2010, 31, 28-43), this review includes those papers that were published during the period from June 2009 to May 2011. These works describe the use of offline and online sample treatment techniques, online sample preconcentration techniques based on electrophoretic principles, and alternative detection systems to UV-Vis to increase the detection sensitivity. The application of the above-mentioned strategies, either alone or combined, to improve the sensitivity in the enantiomeric analysis of a broad range of samples, such as pharmaceutical, biological, food and environmental samples, enables to decrease the limits of detection up to 10⁻¹² M. The use of microchips to achieve sensitive chiral separations is also discussed.

Analysis of chiral amino acids in cerebrospinal fluid samples linked to different stages of Alzheimer disease

Chiral micellar electrokinetic chromatography with laser-induced fluorescence detection (chiral-MEKC-LIF) was used to investigate D- and L-amino acid contents in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples related to different Alzheimer disease (AD) stages. CSF samples were taken from (i) control subjects (S1 pool), (ii) subjects showing a mild cognitive impairment who remained stable (S2 pool), (iii) subjects showing an mild cognitive impairment that progressed to AD (S3 pool) and (iv) subjects diagnosed with AD (S4 pool). The optimized procedure only needed 10 μL of CSF and it included sample cleaning, derivatization with FITC and chiral-MEKC-LIF separation. Eighteen standard amino acids were baseline separated with efficiencies up to 703,000 plates/m, high sensitivity (LODs in the nM range) and good resolution (values ranging from 2.6 to 9.5). Using this method, L-Arg, L-Leu, L-Gln, γ-aminobutyric acid, L-Ser, D-Ser, L-Ala, Gly, L-Lys, L-Glu and L-Asp were detected in all the CSF samples. S3 and S4 samples (i.e. AD subjects) showed significant lower amounts of L-Arg L-Lys, L-Glu and L-Asp compared to the non-AD S1 and S2 samples, showing in the S4 group the lowest amounts of L-Arg L-Lys, L-Glu and L-Asp. Moreover, γ-aminobutyric acid was significantly higher in AD subjects with the highest amount also found for S4. No significant differences were observed for the rest of amino acids including D-Ser. Based on the obtained chiral-MEKC-LIF data, it was possible to correctly classify all the samples into the four groups. These results demonstrate that the use of enantioselective procedures as the one developed in this work can provide some new light on the investigations of AD, including the discovery of new biomarkers related to different stages of AD.

Nutritional and medicinal aspects of D-amino acids

This paper reviews and interprets a method for determining the nutritional value of D-amino acids, D-peptides, and amino acid derivatives using a growth assay in mice fed a synthetic all-amino acid diet. A large number of experiments were carried out in which a molar equivalent of the test compound replaced a nutritionally essential amino acid such as L-lysine (L-Lys), L-methionine (L-Met), L-phenylalanine (L-Phe), and L-tryptophan (L-Trp) as well as the semi-essential amino acids L-cysteine (L-Cys) and L-tyrosine (L-Tyr). The results show wide-ranging variations in the biological utilization of test substances. The method is generally applicable to the determination of the biological utilization and safety of any amino acid derivative as a potential nutritional source of the corresponding L-amino acid. Because the organism is forced to use the D-amino acid or amino acid derivative as the sole source of the essential or semi-essential amino acid being replaced, and because a free amino acid diet allows better control of composition, the use of all-amino-acid diets for such determinations may be preferable to protein-based diets. Also covered are brief summaries of the widely scattered literature on dietary and pharmacological aspects of 27 individual D-amino acids, D-peptides, and isomeric amino acid derivatives and suggested research needs in each of these areas. The described results provide a valuable record and resource for further progress on the multifaceted aspects of D-amino acids in food and biological samples.