Chiral determination of amino acids by capillary electrophoresis and laser-induced fluorescence at picomolar concentrations

In this publication we present results on the determination of enantiomers of amino acids at very low concentrations. A fluoresceine-based chiral dye was synthesized to allow the separation of diastereoisomers of D- and L-ami no acids. We used capillary electrophoresis with different non-ionic surfac tants (Brij). The separation parameters were optimized and separations of D - and L-isovaline, an unusual terrestrial amino acid, were obtained. The se nsitivity limits were also determined using a commercial laser-induced fluo rescence detector. The quantitation of these amino acids is very important to understand the process of chiral selection on Earth. (C) 2000 Elsevier S cience B.V. All rights reserved.