To determine the amino acid composition of a protein, the sample is first hydrolyzed to release the constituent amino acids. Analysis is typically performed using HPLC. It is sometimes helpful to derivatize the amino acids to aid in separation, and to permit detection at lower concentrations. Dabsyl chloride is an effective derivatization reagent for this application. Our SUPELCOSIL LC-DABS columns feature a specially treated and tested octadecyl bonded phase, for the reversed-phase separation of pre-column derivatized dabsyl amino acids. More than 30 amino acids and ammonia can be separated in less than one hour.
Some amino acids exist in nature as enantiomers, and require specialized HPLC columns for proper separation. The Astec® CHIROBIOTIC TAG, T, and T2 columns have demonstrated excellent selectivity and effective resolution of the enantiomers of several underivatized amino acids (such as serine and isoleucine) with simple mobile phases.
