Enantioseparation of N-derivatized amino acids by micro-liquid chromatography/laser induced fluorescence detection using quinidine-based monolithic columns

• A new carbamoylated quinidine based monolith was prepared and applied in chiral micro-LC.
• This monolith demonstrated good permeability, efficiency and reproducibility.
• The monolithic column was successfully applied to the enantioseparation of a wide range of N-derivatized amino acids.
• By using a self-assembled LIF detector, this monolithic column can be used for determining trace d-amino acids (fmol level) in the presence of large amounts of their l-forms.

A novel carbamoylated quinidine based monolith, namely poly(O-9-[2-(methacryloyloxy)-ethylcarbamoyl]-10,11-dihydroquinidine-co-ethylene dimethacrylate (poly(MQD-co-EDMA)), was prepared for the micro-LC enantioseparation of N-derivatized amino acids. The influence of the mobile phase composition, including the organic modifier proportion, the apparent pH and the buffer concentration, on the enantioresolution of N-derivatized amino acids was systematically investigated. Satisfactory column performance in terms of permeability, efficiency and reproducibility was obtained in most cases. The majority of the enantiomers of the tested N-protected amino acids, including 3,5-DNB, 3,5-DClB, FMOC, 3,5-DMB, p-NB, m-ClB, p-ClB and B derivatives, could be baseline separated on the poly(MQD-co-EDMA) monolithic column within 25 min. A self-assembled laser induced fluorescence (LIF) detector was employed to improve sensitivity when analyzing 7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD) derivatives of amino acids. Ten NBD-derivatized amino acids, including arginine and histidine whose enantioseparation on quinidine carbamate based CSPs has not been reported so far, were enantioresolved on the poly(MQD-co-EDMA) monolith column. It is worth noting that the d-enantiomers of NBD-derivatized amino acids eluted first, except in the case of glutamic acid. The LOD values obtained with the LIF detector were comparable to those reported using conventional LC-FL methods. The prepared poly(MQD-co-EDMA) monolithic column coupled with the LIF detector opens up interesting perspectives to the determination of trace d-amino acids in biological samples.

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