SAMPLE PREPARATION AND REVERSED PHASE-HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY ANALYSIS OF FOOD-DERIVED PEPTIDES

Reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) is an indispensable technique in food peptide research. This paper briefly r eviews the methods for isolation and RP-HPLC analysis of food-derived peptides. A critical aspect is the sample preparation and clean-up. Fo r this, selective precipitation, ultrafiltration, size exclusion chrom atography, ion-exchange chromatography and solid phase extraction (SPE ) are used. SPE with non-polar or ion-exchange cartridges, is an effec tive and rapid method for peptide isolation, fractionation and concent ration. RP-HPLC is accomplished on C-18 silica columns using shallow g radients of acetonitrile containing 0.1% TFA. Detection is by far-UV a bsorbance although selective detection by fluorometry on-line provides complementary and selective information. HPLC coupling to mass spectr ometry (MS) and tandem MS/MS is increasingly applied to food-derived p eptides. The research topics and the analytical strategies dealing wit h food-derived peptides are summarized. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.