Determination of d- and l-Amino Acids in Garlic Foodstuffs by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Black garlic is currently attracting interest as a health food and constituent of commercial supplements; however, no data regarding the d-amino acids within black garlic have been reported. Therefore, the amino acid compositions of methanol extracts from fresh and black garlic were compared herein. We investigated the contents of the d- and l-forms of amino acids in commercial fresh, black, and freeze-dried garlic foodstuffs by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) using a pre-column chiral derivatization reagent, succinimidyl 2-(3-((benzyloxy)carbonyl)-1-methyl-5-oxoimidazolidin-4-yl) acetate. Several d-amino acids, namely, the d-forms of Asn, Ala, Ser, Thr, Glu, Asp, Pro, Arg, Phe, Orn, Lys, and Tyr, were observed in the methanol extract of black garlic, whereas only d-Ala was detected in that of fresh garlic foodstuffs. These data suggest that several d-amino acids can be produced during fermentation for preparing black garlic.

Introducing an Experimental Design Approach for Efficient Optimization of Chiral Derivatization Conditions for D- and L-Glyceric Acids

A sensitive analytical method was developed for individual analyses of D- and L-glyceric acids by chiral derivatization - liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. To elucidate rapid and efficient optimization for derivatization we newly introduced a concept of design of experiments (DOE). The optimization of major 5 factors in the derivatization could be predicted with only 28 measurements. By applying DOE to optimization, the yields of desired derivatives increased five-fold against before optimization.

Enantiomeric Identification of Pregabalin by GC-MS via Methylation and S-TPC Chiral Derivatization

Pregabalin is a Schedule V controlled substance which is defined as the (S) enantiomer of 3-(aminomethyl)-5-methylhexanoic acid. It is used legitimately to treat neuropathy in patients with diabetes as well as for epilepsy and fibromyalgia. Pregabalin is an amino acid and an amphoteric compound, which makes it difficult to analyze using the conventional GC-MS instrumentation found in most forensic drug analysis laboratories. Problems associated with the traditional GC-MS analysis of pregabalin include selective solubility, ring closure to the corresponding lactam in the GC injection port and/or the MS transfer line and difficulty with chiral derivatization due to the presence of a carboxylic acid moiety. Here, we show that these challenges can be overcome by methylating (capping) the carboxylic acid portion of the pregabalin molecule and converting to the corresponding methyl ester. Once the methyl ester is synthesized, chiral derivatization at the amine can be achieved to identify the controlled (S) enantiomer of pregabalin via GC-MS.

Chromatographic profiles of tryptophan and kynurenine enantiomers derivatized with (S)-4-(3-isothiocyanatopyrrolidin-1-yl)-7-(N,N-dimethylaminosulfonyl)-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole using LC-MS/MS on a triazole-bonded column

d- and l-Tryptophan (Trp) and d- and l-kynurenine (KYN) were derivatized with a chiral reagent, (S)-4-(3-isothiocyanatopyrrolidin-1-yl)-7-(N,N-dimethylaminosulfonyl)-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (DBD-PyNCS), and were separated enantiomerically by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with a triazole-bonded column (Cosmosil HILIC) using tandem mass spectrometric (MS/MS) detection. Effects of column temperature, salt (HCO₂ NH₄ ) concentration, and pH of the mobile phase in the enantiomeric separation, followed by MS detection of (S)-DBD-PyNCS-d,l-Trp and -d,l-KYN, were investigated. The mobile phase consisting of CH₃ CN/10 mM ammonium formate in H₂ O (pH 5.0) (90/10) with a column temperature of 50-60 °C gave satisfactory resolution (Rs) and mass-spectrometric detection. The enantiomeric separation of d,l-Trp and d,l-KYN produced Rs values of 2.22 and 2.13, and separation factors (α) of 1.08 and 1.08, for the Trp and KYN enantiomers, respectively. The proposed LC-MS/MS method provided excellent detection sensitivity of both enantiomers of Trp and KYN (5.1-19 nM).

Direct and indirect high-performance liquid chromatography enantioseparation of trans-4-hydroxy-2-nonenoic acid

trans-4-Hydroxy-2-nonenoic acid (HNEA) is a marker of lipid peroxidation resulting from the metabolism of trans-4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE). Direct and indirect RP-HPLC methods for the separation of HNEA enantiomers were developed and compared. The indirect method involved pre-column derivatization with a chiral amino agent, (1S,2S)-(+)-2-amino-1-(4-nitrophenyl)-1,3-propanediol, and subsequent separation of diastereomers on a Spherisorb ODS2 column. The direct separation of HNEA enantiomers was performed using the chiral stationary phase, Chiralpak AD-RH. Validation parameters including limit of quantification, linear range, accuracy and precision were determined. The indirect separation method was successfully applied for the determination of enantiomeric ratio of HNEA in rat brain mitochondrial lysate, and showed that HNEA was formed (R)-enantioselectively from HNE.

High Performance Liquid Chromatographic Analysis of Enantiomeric Composition of Abuse Drugs

Numerous commonly abused drugs exist in two enantiomeric forms. Identifying the exact enantiomeric form is essential when only one of these two enantiomers is a controlled substance. Enantiomeric composition data may also help the investigation of clandestine laboratory activities. Although generally not as convenient as gas chromatographic methods, liquid chromatographic methods (LC) allow for the selection of larger and hopefully more effective derivatizing groups and the use of an "active" mobile phase. LC-based enantiomeric resolution approaches include derivatization with chiral agents, incorporation of chiral additives in the mobile phase, and the use of chiral stationary phases. Various applications of these approaches are reviewed.Unique detection procedures that were adopted in enantiomeric analysis are also reviewed.