A novel method for detecting amino acids derivatized with phenyl isothiocyanate by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

- A novel method of LC-ESI-MS based on the PITC derivatization was established for the determination of amino acids.
- Complete separation of 15 amino acid derivatives was achieved with an Agilent Eclipse plus C18 column (4.6 mm × 250 mm × 5 μm) in 29 min with the mobile phase (A) of 0.05% formic acid aqueous solution.
- The mass spectrometry results showed that all these PITC-amino acids generated a characteristic cleavage at the same bonding site, where the amino acids combined with PITC.
- The spectral data of the 15 PITC-amino acids are indicative of losses of 17 Da (NH3), 18 Da (H2O) and/or 46 Da (CO + H2O) from the parent protonated molecules.