Spectrophotometric method for the quantitative assay of N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide esters including extinction coefficients and reaction kinetics

A quantitative spectrophotometric method has been developed for the analysis of N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide (sulfo-NHS), a chromophore with a maximum absorbance at 268 nm. The extinction coefficients were determined between pH 6.0 and 8.0 and found to vary in a nonlinear manner. This spectrophotometric profile is not present in its esters which however release an equimolar amount of sulfo-NHS when they react with nucleophilic groups or hydrolyze in aqueous solution. This fact facilitates the determination in solution of the concentration and purity of bis(sulfosuccinimidyl) suberate (BS3) used as a model, as well as the examination of hydrolysis and aminolysis half-lives in different reaction conditions, these parameters being valuable in optimization of the use of the active esters.