Multi-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatography of opioid peptides following pre-column derivatization with naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde in the presence of cyanide ion. Preliminary results on the determination of leucine- and methionine-enkephalin-like fluorescence in the striatum region of the rat brain.

The reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography of three synthetic opioid peptides, 5leucine-enkephalin, 5methionine-enkephalin and [D-2alanine]-5methionine enkephalin, has been studied after their pre-column fluorogenic derivatization with naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde in the presence of cyanide to the corresponding 1-cyanobenz[f]isoindole (CBI) derivatives. The chromatographic properties of the three synthetic CBI-peptides were characterized using three different stationary phases, ODS Hypersil, CPS Hypersil and Spherisorb Phenyl, eluted with mobile phases containing various concentrations of methanol, tetrahydrofuran or acetonitrile in 26 mM trifluoroacetic acid, adjusted to pH 3.5. The data obtained using single chromatographic columns were used to design a multi-dimensional system in which the three synthetic CBI-peptides of interest were transferred as a single fraction from one column to a second. The first column served to separate the peptides from the majority of the material in the samples, and the second column was used to separate the three CBI-peptides from each other. The best separation was achieved in which the first column was Spherisorb Phenyl and the second column was ODS Hypersil. Both columns were eluted with a mobile phase of 45% acetonitrile (v/v) in 26 mM trifluoroacetic acid (pH 3.5) at a flow-rate of 1.0 ml/min. The method has been applied to the determination of leucine- and methionine-enkephalin-like fluorescence in the striatum of the rat brain.