Enantiomeric separation of fluorescent, 6-aminoquinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate, tagged amino acids.

A new derivatizing reagent, 6-aminoquinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate (AQC), has been used successfully for chromatographic enantioseparation of 31 amino acids on cyclodextrin bonded stationary phases. AQC reacts with both primary and secondary amino acids to produce stable and highly fluorescent derivatives suitable for efficient and sensitive chromatographic determinations. The derivatization reaction proceeds without detectable racemization. The detection limit is in the femtomole range and approximately 0.0075% of the D-enantiomer in an excess of the L-enantiomer is detectable. High resolution values are needed when determining trace enantiomeric impurities.