Native fluorescence

In LIF detection systems, excitation power may be increased up to six orders of magnitude compared to CF detection. Most LC-LIF detection concerns under-ivatised polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and fluorescing dyes (e.g. polymethines). Because only a limited number of analytes possess native fluorescence, derivatisation of the analyte before detection is normally required in trace analysis of organic solutes by means of LIF detection. LIF detection in HPLC was reviewed... 

There has been interest in miniaturizing and automating electrophoresis of proteins. Ruchel (1997) reported a miniaturized system where proteins are first separated by isoelectric focusing in millimeter diameter tubes. The tube s contents are transferred to a slab gel that is a few centimeters on a side. This technology was used to separate the proteins from a single giant neuron from Aplasia califomicus. More recently, native fluorescence has been used to resolve 200 proteins from a similar miniaturized electrophoresis system (Sluszny and Yeung, 2004). 

Sluszny, C., Yeung, E.S. (2004). One-and two-dimensional miniaturized electrophoresis of proteins with native fluorescence detection. Anal. Chem. 76, 1359-1365. 

Khashaba et al. [34] suggested the use of sample spectrophotometric and spectrofluorimetric methods for the determination of miconazole and other antifungal drugs in different pharmaceutical formulations. The spectrophotometric method depend on the interaction between imidazole antifungal drugs as -electron donor with the pi-acceptor 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-l,4-benzoquinone, in methanol or with p-chloranilic acid in acetonitrile. The produced chromogens obey Beer s law at Amax 460 and 520 nm in the concentration range 22.5-200 and 7.9-280 pg/mL for 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-l,4-benzoquinone and p-chloranilic acid, respectively. Spectrofluorimetric method is based on the measurement of the native fluorescence of ketoconazole at 375 nm with excitation at 288 nm and/or fluorescence intensity versus concentration is linear for ketoconazole at 49.7-800 ng/mL. The methods... 

Since a relatively small number of analytes of interest have native fluorescent properties, derivatization reactions are frequently employed to enable this detection technique to be extended to a broader range of compounds. This is an excellent means of increasing the detectability for a whole range of molecules, but it is important to realize that there are certain limitations. First, it is difficult to obtain quantitative yields at low analyte concentrations. This implies that in some cases, the obtainable detection limit are not limited by the detector sensitivity, but instead by low yields in the derivatization reaction. Furthermore, to shift the equilibrium toward the product side at low analyte concentrations, as much as 104 times excess of fluorescent label may be necessary. Tow concentrations of impurities in the label can be present at levels greater than the analytes of interest and as a result, numerous interfering peaks in the chromatograms may be observed. These problems are discussed in detail in Ref. 181. 

Recently the continuous-addition-of-reagent (CAR) technique [182] was applied for the determination of fluorophores by POCL chemistry [95-99], The applicability of this technique was demonstrated by the determination of natively fluorescent acepromazine in horse plasma [95], the alkaloid harmaline in plasma [96], and other dansylated alkaloids [97], A separation step has also been included and applied to postcolumn detection of PAHs [98] and dansylated P-carboline alkaloids [99],... 

Among the natively fluorescent compounds determined by the POCL reaction are PAHs in different matrices such as coal tar [100] and biomass emissions [101], and amino-PAHs in shale oil, coal oil, and coal gasifier tar [102], Nitro-PAHs have no fluorescent properties, but have been reduced online (either pre-or postcolumn) to the corresponding amino-PAHs [103], The two fluorescent drugs dipyridamole and benzydamine have been determined in rat plasma by... 

In the PO-CL system, the compounds showing native fluorescence or that fluoresce after chemical derivatization can be detected. As examples of the PO-CL detection of native fluorescence compounds, dipyridamole and benzydamine in rat plasma [57] and fluphenazine [58] have been reported in the former method, the detection limits of dipyridamole and benzydamine were 345 pM and 147 nM in plasma, respectively. Diamino- and aminopyrenes were sensitively determined using TCPO and their detection limits were in the sub-fmol range [59], Carcinogenic compounds such as 1- nitropyrene and its metabolites, can also be determined by the HPLC-PO-CL system. Nonfluorescent nitropyrenes were converted into the corresponding fluorescent aminopyrenes by online reduction on a Zn column followed by detection 2-50-fmol detection limits were achieved in the determination of ethanol extracts from airborne particulates (Fig. 13) [60],... 

The native fluorescence of aspirin, in contrast to salicylic acid, is a weak one and has been studied only recently.22 Excitation wavelength maximum is at 280 nm and emission maximum is at 335 nm. Maxima for salicylic acid are at 308 and 450 nm respectively. 

Native fluorescence of a protein is due largely to the presence of the aromatic amino acids tryptophan and tyrosine. Tryptophan has an excitation maximum at 280 nm and emits at 340 to 350 nm. The amino acid composition of the target protein is one factor that determines if the direct measurement of a protein s native fluorescence is feasible. Another consideration is the protein s conformation, which directly affects its fluorescence spectrum. As the protein changes conformation, the emission maximum shifts to another wavelength. Thus, native fluorescence may be used to monitor protein unfolding or interactions. The conformation-dependent nature of native fluorescence results in measurements specific for the protein in a buffer system or pH. Consequently, protein denatur-ation may be used to generate more reproducible fluorescence measurements. 

Fluorescence is not widely used as a general detection technique for polypeptides because only tyrosine and tryptophan residues possess native fluorescence. However, fluorescence can be used to detect the presence of these residues in peptides and to obtain information on their location in proteins. Fluorescence detectors are occasionally used in combination with postcolumn reaction systems to increase detection sensitivity for polypeptides. Fluorescamine, o-phthalaldehyde, and napthalenedialdehyde all react with primary amine groups to produce highly fluorescent derivatives.33,34 These reagents can be delivered by a secondary HPLC pump and mixed with the column effluent using a low-volume tee. The derivatization reaction is carried out in a packed bed or open-tube reactor. 

Fluorescence detection offers the possibility of high sensitivity and, in the case of complex samples, improved selectivity. However, this mode of detection requires that the analyte exhibit native fluorescence or contain a group to which a fluorophore can be attached by chemical derivatization. Because only tryptophan and tyrosine exhibit significant native fluorescence, fluorescence detection of proteins usually requires derivatization. 

The use of HPLC to analyze biogenic amines and their acid metabolites is well documented. HPLC assays for classical biogenic amines such as norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (E), dopamine (DA), and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin) and their acid metabolites are based on several physicochemical properties that include a catechol moiety (aryl 1,2-dihydroxy), basicity, easily oxidized nature, and/or native fluorescence characteristics (Anderson, 1985). Based on these characteristics, various types of detector systems can be employed to assay low concentrations of these analytes in various matrices such as plasma, urine, cerebrospinal fluid (CSE), tissue, and dialysate. 

Fluorescence detection, alone or with the aid of derivatizing reagents to enhance detector responses and improve the chromatographic resolution, has also been used for the determination of biogenic amines. Lakshmana and Trichur (1997) used native fluorescence to analyze NE, DA, and 5HT in rat brain utilizing an isocratic separation on an ODS CIS column. The detection limits reported were 100-250 pg on column. 

Lakshmana MK, Trichur TR. 1997. An isocratic assay for norepinephrine, dopamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine using their native fluorescence by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection in discrete brain areas of rat. Anal Biochem 246 166-170. 

Huorescence Specific compounds with native fluorescence or with fluorescent tag fg-pg... 

Lee, T. T., Lillard, S. J., and Yeung, E. S. (1993). Screening and characterization of biopharmaceuticals by high-performance capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced native fluorescence detection. Electrophoresis 14, 429—438. 

A third type of detector is the intrinsic or native fluorescence detector that utilizes native fluorescence properties of amino acids. The sensitivity of this detector is between UV/PDA and LIF detection. The advantage of this technique over pre-labeling is that there is no pre-labeling step required therefore, the sample preparation is relatively simple, and the sensitivity is improved over UV/LIF. However, the intrinsic fluorescence detection relies on the presence of Tryptophan (Try), Tyrosine (Tyr), Phenylalanine (Phe), and this detector has just become commercially available. 

Since the PSP toxins lack native fluorescence, useful UV absorption or adequate volatility, more traditional analytical procedures such as gas chromatography or spectrometry have proven ineffective in assaying for the toxins. A number of chemical assays for the toxins have been developed though with the fluorometric method of Bates and Rapoport (3 ) proving to be the most useful to date. This assay is based on oxidation of the PSP toxins under alkaline conditions to fluorescent derivatives. The assay is highly sensitive, fairly specific for the PSP toxins and was incorporated into a detection method in the column chromatographic separation of the toxins described by Buckley et al (4 ). 

Hupka et al. [29] developed a method for the determination of morphine and its phase II metabolites, morphine-3-beta-D-glucuronide and morphine-6-beta-D-glucuronide in the blood of heroin victims. The method is based on immunoaffinity SPE, RP-HPLC isocratic separation (mobile phase 90% lOmmol KH2PO4, 2mmol 1-heptanesulfonic acid, adjusted to pH 2.5 with H3PO4 and 10% acetonitrile flow rate 1.5 mL/min), and laser-induced native fluorescence detection. 

Zipfel, W. R., Williams, R. M., Christie, R., Nikitin, A. Y, Hyman, B. T., and Webb, W. W. 2003. Live tissue intrinsic emission microscopy using multiphoton-excited native fluorescence and SHG. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 100 7075-80. 

This type of derivatization seems promising for the detection of drugs and metabolites with phenolic groups. A recent application on the determination of chlorophenols in surface water showed that the dansyl derivatives of phenols are readily convertible to the highly fluorescent dansyl-OH and dansyl-OCHs products after postchromatographic irradiation (281). Fluorescence gain factors of up to 8000-fold were obtained for chlorophenol derivatives with a low native fluorescence. 

Fluorometric detection has also been employed for the determination of sulfonamides in edible animal products, because it confers the advantages of selectivity and sensitivity. Although sulfonamides possess weak native fluorescence, their sensitive lluorometric detection necessitates use of precolumn or postcolumn derivatization producing the corresponding fluorescent derivatives. The most commonly used derivatizing reagent for precolumn derivatization is fluorescamine (217, 228, 230, 238, 239), while for postcolumn derivatization fluorescamine (231), and o-phthalaldehyde (OPA), and -mercaptoethanol (219) are most often used. 

As mentioned, the predominant exception to the aforementioned problem is the detection of tryptophan. Tryptophan (also tyrosine and phenylalanine) exhibits reasonably strong UV absorbance at longer wavelengths. Better yet, tryptophan exhibits strong native fluorescence (Acx = 295 nm, Aenl = 345 nm) that has often been employed for facile detection of free tryptophan. 

Retinol and its esters and unesterified tocopherols and tocotrienols possess strong native fluorescence, but neither vitamin D nor vitamin K fluoresce. The carotenoids commonly associated with foods do not fluoresce to any significant extent, except notably phytofluene, which is found in considerable amounts in tomatoes (22) and in smaller amounts in carrots (130) and which fluoresces six times more intensely than retinyl acetate (131). 

For coumarins in orange fruits (115), the HPLC used a Zorbax Rx C8 (250-mm X 4.6-mm ID, 5 fim) column maintained at 25°C, and analysis was performed by binary-gradient elution using 0.1% HOAc in acetonitrile (eluent A) and 0.1% HOAc in HzO (eluent B). In the author s lab, standard coumarins could be separated by isocratic elution on Zorbax Rx C8 column with acetonitrile-0.1% HOAc in water (35 65) at 1.0 ml/min, as presented in previous work (1). The eluate from the column was passed to a UV detector (UV 330 nm) and then into a fluorescence detector (excitation at 340 nm, emission at 425 nm). As for the specificity, some of the coumarins do not have native fluorescence. Nine coumarins are separated under UV 330 nm, and three coumarins could not be detected with fluorescence detection. Detailed conditions for coumarin analysis in foods and absorption spectra of coumarins obtained by online diode array detector with HPLC were presented by Lee and Widmer (1). Since coumarins exhibit strong absorption in the ultraviolet region, absorption at approximately 313 nm has been used to estimate the dilution of cold-pressed lemon oil with distilled oil (12). Analysis of umbelliferone (7-hydroxy-coumarin) and scopoletin (6-methoxy-7-hydroxycoumarin) in citrus fruits was performed using... 

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