Simultaneous determination of 5-hydroxyindoles and catechols by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection following derivatization with benzylamine and 1,2-diphenylethylenediamine

A highly selective and sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of 5-hydroxyindoles and catechols (serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine and related compounds) by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection is described. The method is based on the two-step precolumn derivatization of 5-hydroxyindoles and catechols with benzylamine (BA) and 1,2-diphenylethylenediamine (DPE), respectively, resulting in highly fluorescent and stable benzoxazole derivatives. The first derivatization with BA proceeds at room temperature (ca. 23 degreesC) for 2 min in a mixture of 0.3 M 3-cyclohexylamino-1-propanesulfonic acid buffer (pH 10.0) and methanol in the presence of potassium hexacyanoferrate(III). The subsequent second derivatization with DPE is carried out at 50 degreesC for 20 min in the presence of glycine. The resulting fluorescent derivatives of five 5-hydroxyindoles and seven catechols are separated on a reversed-phase column (150 x 1.5 mm I.D., packed with C-18 silica, 5 mum) with isocratic elution using a mixture of acetonitrile-15 mM acetate buffer (pH 4.5) (34:66, v/v) containing 1 mM octanesulfonic acid sodium salt, and are detected spectrofluorimetrically at 480 nm with excitation at 345 nm. The detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio of 3) of the related compounds are 80 amol to 86 fmol for a 20-mul injection. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.