Simultaneous kinetic determination of 3-hydroxybutyrate and 3-hydroxyvalerate in biopolymer degradation processes.

A new kinetic method is proposed for the simultaneous determination of 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB) and 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV) based on the different rate of the 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase-catalysed reactions of these compounds with coenzyme NAD(+). A flow injection system with two reactors of immobilised 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase and dual detection is used. The concentrations of NADH produced after two different reaction times are measured by fluorometry or spectrophotometry and multivariate linear calibration is applied for quantification. Concentrations of 3HB and 3HV between 1x10(-6) and 1x10(-4)M can be determined at an average sampling frequency of 20h(-1). In contrast to usual methods, the proposed here makes possible the discrimination of 3HB and 3HV without previous separation so that usual extraction with chlorinated solvents and/or chromatographic separation is not required. The method is of interest in a wide variety of fields concerning PHAs, as it can provide information on the degradation rate and mechanism, composition and structure of these polymers. Its applicability has been proved through the determination of 3HB and 3HV in the digests of some chemically degraded commercial PHAs.