Ultrafast simultaneous chiral analysis of native amino acid enantiomers using supercritical fluid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

In the chiral separation of amino acids, liquid chromatography has been mainly used because of the physicochemical properties of the analytes. To date, only few reports of the use of supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) for the analysis of chiral amino acids exist, and there is much room for improvement in terms of the number of measurable amino acids, peak shape, and analysis time. In this study, we developed a novel method for the chiral analysis of native amino acids using a system combining SFC and tandem mass spectrometry. Specifically, the separation of amino acid enantiomers was investigated using a CROWNPAK CR-I(+) column with a chiral stationary phase of optically active crown ether. Methanol/water mobile phase with trifluoroacetic acid as a modifier based on supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) was used. At a low modifier concentration of 30% for the separation of hydrophilic compounds, 18 proteinogenic amino acid enantiomers except glycine and proline were successfully separated with resolution (Rs) = 1.96-33.62 within 6.5 min. In attempt to shorten the analysis time, the flow rate was increased; using a CO2/modifier ratio of 60/40 at a flow rate of 3 mL/min, ultrafast chromatography of 17 amino acid enantiomers, except histidine, was achieved with retention time ≤ 1 min and resolution ≥ 1.5. The developed ultrafast chiral separation method was verified by analyzing a commercially available black vinegar, which detected eight kinds of d-amino acids. The present method has thus confirmed to be successful and practical in terms of both analyte coverage and throughput.