HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF HEXOSAMINES, HEXOSAMINITOLS, N-ACETYLHEXOSAMINES AND N-ACETYLHEXOSAMINITOLS BY ULTRAVIOLET AND FLUORESCENCE DETECTION AT PICOMOLE LEVELS

A simple and rapid method for the preparation of 9-fluorenylmethoxycar bonyl (Fmoc) derivatives of hexosamines (glucosamine, galactosamine), hexosaminitols (glucosaminitol, galactosaminitol), N-acetylhexosamines (N-acetylglucosamine, N-acetylgalactosamine) and N-acetylhexosaminito ls (N-acetylglucosaminitol, N-acetylgalactosaminitol), is described. T he derivatization was performed at room temperature for 5-10 min under neutral and slightly alkaline conditions. The separation of Fmoc-amin o sugar and amino sugar alcohol derivatives on various reversed-phase columns (Cosmosil C-18, Sinopak-S C-8 and Develosil C-18) with isocrat ic elution was examined. The determination limits of hexosaminitol, N- acetylhexosamine, and N-acetylhexosaminitol derivatives were 0.4, 1.4 and 1.6 pmol with fluorescence detection and 4.6, 16 and 20 pmol with ultraviolet detection, respectively.