INVESTIGATION OF POLYAMINE METABOLISM BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHIC AND GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHIC PROFILING METHODS

Measurements of polyamines, polyamine conjugates and their metabolites in tissues, cells and extracellular fluids are used in biochemistry, (micro)biology, oncology and parasitology. Decarboxylation of ornithin e yields putrescine. Aminopropylation of putrescine yields spermidine, and aminopropylation of spermidine yields spermine. Spermidine and sp ermine are retroconverted to putrescine and spermidine, respectively, by initial N-acetylation and subsequent polyamine oxidation. The inter mediate N-acetylputrescine, N-1-acetylspermidine and N-8-acetylspermid ine are the major urinary N-acetylpolyamines. Polyamines and N-acetylp olyamines are terminally degraded to non-cu-amino acid metabolites by oxidative deamination and aldehyde dehydrogenation. Chromatography wit h on-line detection is the most commonly applied profiling method for polyamines, N-acetylpolyamines and their non-alpha-amino acid metaboli tes. Cation-exchange and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chroma tography require pre- or post-column derivatisation, followed by UV-Vi s spectrophotometric or fluorimetric detection. Isolation and derivati sation precedes gas chromatography with flame-ionisation, nitrogen-pho sphorus, electron-capture or mass spectrometric detection. High-perfor mance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography of polyamines are n ot competitive techniques, but rather supplementary.