Trace determination of short-chain aliphatic amines in biological samples by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography with laser-induced fluorescence detection

In this study, a new capillary electrophoresis (CE) method is described originally for the sensitive and selective determination of short-chain aliphatic amines in biological samples. These amines were converted into their N-hydroxysuccinimidyl fluorescein-O-acetate (SIFA) derivatives and measured by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography with laser-induced fluorescence detection. The derivatization conditions and separation parameters for the aliphatic amines were optimized in detail. The SIFA-labeled amines were fully separated within 8.5 min using 25 mM pH 9.6 boric acid electrolyte containing 60 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The parameters of validation such as linearity of response, precision and detection limits were determined. The detection limits were obtained in the range from 0.02 to 0.1 nM, which was the lowest value reported by CE methods. The developed method was successfully employed to monitor aliphatic amines in serum and cells samples. After comparison of other CE methods using different fluorescent probes, the present method represents a powerful tool for the trace determination of aliphatic amines in complex biological samples.