Fluorescence high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of free and conjugated bile acids in serum and bile using 1-bromoacetylpyrene as a pre-labeling reagent.

A fluorescence high-performance liquid chromatographic method is described for the determination of free and conjugated bile acids in serum and bile. Free and conjugated bile acids are extracted from serum or bile using a Sep-Pak C18 cartridge and then fractionated on a piperidinohydroxypropyl Sephadex LH-20 column. Free and glycine-conjugated bile acids are labeled with 1-bromoacetylpyrene in acetonitrile using dicyclohexyl-18-crown-6-ether as catalyst. Taurine-conjugated bile acids are hydrolyzed by cholylglycine hydrolase and then derivatized by the same reagent. Derivatized bile acids are separated stepwise on a reversed-phase column (Radial Pak A) using acetonitrile-methanol-water (A) (100 : 50 : 40) and (B) (100 : 50 : 20) as mobile phase. The eluate is monitored by a fluorophotometer at 370 nm (excitation) and 440 nm (emission). Linearities of fluorescence intensities (peak heights) with the amounts of free and conjugated bile acids were obtained between 50 pmol and 200 pmol for free bile acids and between 25 pmol and 100 pmol for glycine-conjugated bile acids, respectively. Recoveries from serum and bile samples are not less than 90%. This method is sensitive, reliable and useful for the simultaneous determination of free and conjugated bile acids in serum and bile.