SELECTIVE HPLC ANALYSIS OF N-ALKYL HYDROPEROXIDES UP TO C18H38O2

A series of n-alkyl hydroperoxides are separated by HPLC and detected by their postcolumn reaction with horseradish peroxidase and p-hydroxy phenylacetic acid (HPAA) to yield a fluorescent product; several secon dary and tertiary hydroperoxides, some 1-hydroxyalkyl hydroperoxides, and a few branched hydroperoxides are also examined, n-Alkyl hydropero xides up to at least C-18 react with the enzyme with only minimally re duced efficiency at greater alkyl chain length, The effects of the col umn, the eluent, and the pH of the sample reaching the detector are de scribed, The detection limit with gradient elution ranges from 0.4 mu mol L-1 for n-hexyl hydroperoxide to 1 mu mol L-1 for n-octadecyl hydr operoxide.