Quantitative amino acid analysis using a Beckman system gold HPLC 126AA analyzer

Background: The Beckman 6300/7300 analyzer, which was widely used for amino acid (AA) analysis, is no longer commercially available. Methods: To set L ip an affordable AA analysis program, a Beckman system gold HPLC 126AA anal yzer and Pickering Laboratories reagents were used. Two quantitative AA ana lysis programs were developed. One was an 18-min short program quantitating seven AAs from plasma and dried blood spots (DBS) specimens using Lithium eluents Li-365 and Li-375 at 70 degreesC column temperature. The short prog ram could be used for diagnosis and follow-up dietary management for phenyl ketonuria (PKU), maple syrup urine disease (MSUD), tyrosinemia and homocyst inuria patients. The second program was a 118-min long AA screening panel q uantitating 40 AAs using Lithium eluents Li-275, Li-365 and Li-375 at 32, 4 8 and 72 degreesC column temperatures from plasma and urine specimens. Resu lts: The values obtained from DBS specimens were in good agreement with cer tified results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The val ues obtained from plasma and urine samples were in good correlation with th ose obtained from Beckman 6300 analyzer (0.9076 less than or equal to r les s than or equal to 0.999). Conclusions: Amino acid quantitation from physio logical samples using a Beckman 126AA Analyzer and Pickering Laboratories r eagents was useful for clinical diagnosis and monitoring of aminoacidopathi es. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.