DETERMINATION OF AMINO-ACIDS IN THE HEPATIC AND BRAIN-TISSUE OF THE RAT BY GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY

A procedure is described for the quantitative determination of amino acids in hepatic and brain tissue samples from the rat. Because the presence of certain matrix components in the tissue material led to interference with chromatographic analysis they were removed by a prechromatographic "clean-up" step. Quantitative analysis of amino acids, as their N-heptafluorobutyryl iso-butyl ester derivatives, was achieved by high resolution gas chromatography on an apolar fused silica open tubular column. Reproducibility data from the complete procedure are presented; coefficients of variation for arginine and histidine in hepatic tissue varied between 7.1 and 10.1% whereas those for most other amino acids were better than 5%, with a mean recovery of 90%.