Simultaneous separation and identification of all structural isomers and enantiomers of aminobutyric acid using a highly sensitive chiral resolution labeling reagent

Aminobutyric acid has structural isomers (alpha-, beta-, and gamma-aminobutyric acids) and enantiomers (d/l-forms) with various unique functions. Therefore, a quantitative method for determining the content of each aminobutyric acid must be developed. In general, quantitative simultaneous analysis of multiple compounds is conducted via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). However, simultaneous separation and highly sensitive detection of all aminobutyric acids are complicated, so highly sensitive analytical methods for the separation and identification of each compound have not yet been established. We previously developed highly sensitive chiral resolution labeling reagents. Herein, we propose a highly sensitive analytical method for the simultaneous separation and identification of all aminobutyric acids via LC-MS and labeling with our original highly sensitive chiral resolution labeling reagent, 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrophenyl-5-l-valine-N,N-dimethylethylenediamine amide (l-FDVDA). The labeling reagent was completely bound to all aminobutyric acids through incubation overnight (>15 h) at 50 degrees C. Additionally, the labeled aminobutyric acids could be stored for at least 1 week at 4 degrees C. Furthermore, we demonstrated simultaneous separation and identification of aminobutyric acids in biological samples and foods through LC-MS using a C-18 column after labeling with l-FDVDA. Our method is expected to be adopted for the analysis of the contents of all aminobutyric acids in biological and clinical samples as well as various foods.