Development of a three-dimensional HPLC system for the determination of serine, threonine and allo-threonine enantiomers in the plasma of patients with chronic kidney disease.

A highly-selective three-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatographic (3D-HPLC) system was developed for the determination of serine (Ser), threonine (Thr) and allo-threonine (aThr) enantiomers in human plasma to screen the new biomarker of chronic kidney disease (CKD). d-Ser has been reported to be the candidate biomarker of CKD, however, multiple biomarkers are still required. Therefore, Ser analogs of hydroxy amino acids are the focus in the present study. For the sensitive analysis, the amino acids were derivatized with 4-fluoro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole and detected by their fluorescence. The 3D-HPLC system consisted of a reversed-phase column (Singularity RP18, 1.0 × 250 mm), an anion-exchange column (Singularity AX, 1.0 × 150 mm) and a Pirkle-type chiral stationary phase (Singularity CSP-013S, 1.5 × 250 mm). The developed method was validated and applied to the human plasma samples obtained from 15 healthy volunteers and 165 CKD patients. The concentrations of the d-forms were 1.13-2.26 (Ser), 0.01-0.03 (Thr) and 0.04-0.10 µM (aThr) for the healthy volunteers and 0.95-19.0 (Ser), 0-0.57 (Thr) and 0.04-1.02 µM (aThr) for the CKD patients. The concentrations and the %d values of all the target d-amino acids were increased along with the decreasing of renal function and further investigation for clinical applications are expected.

Development of an off-line heart cutting two-dimensional HPLC system for enantioselective analysis of serine, threonine and allo-threonine in human physiological fluids.

A highly-selective two-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatographic (2D-HPLC, off-line heart cutting mode) system was developed for the determination of serine (Ser), threonine (Thr) and allo-threonine (aThr) enantiomers in human physiological fluids. Ser, Thr and aThr have a hydroxy group in their side chains, and the development of a simultaneous analytical method with a practically sufficient enantio/chemo-selectivity has been required to clarify their amounts in human physiological fluids. The amino acids in the samples were derivatized with 4-fluoro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole and were isolated by a reversed-phase column (Singularity RP18, 1.0 x 250 mm) in the first dimension. After the target amino acids were collected, the fractions were manually introduced into an enantioselective column in the second dimension and were detected by their fluorescence. For the second dimension, a Pirkle-type chiral stationary phase (Singularity CSP-013S, 1.5 x 250 mm) was used. The resolution values of the enantiomers obtained by the Singularity CSP-013S column were 7.64 for Ser, 7.58 for Thr and 4.71 for aThr by using the mixture of methanol and acetonitrile containing formic acid as the mobile phases. The developed method was validated and applied to human plasma and urine. In the plasma, the obtained %d values (the percentage of d-form to total amino acid) were 1.7 for Ser, and trace levels of d-aThr and d-Thr were observed. In the urine, the %d values were 48.0 for Ser, 1.6 for Thr and 8.0 for aThr (calculated using d-aThr and l-Thr).