Narrow-bore liquid chromatography with multichannel detection in paediatric biochemistry: Analysis of phenylalanine and tyrosine in phenylketonuria

Abstract

In paediatric biochemistry, the analysis of drugs and endogenous compounds in preterm or low-birth weight neonates presents particular analytical problems. Sensitive techniques with small sample capacity are essential and in this context, narrow-bore (1–2mm) LC columns, coupled with appropriate low-volume detector cells and connections to reduce band dispersion, have been shown to offer significant advantages. By comparison with conventional columns an increase in sensitivity by a factor ofca. 2 can be achieved. The combination of narrow-bore columns and rapid-scanning UV detectors in reversed-phase LC enables the spectral information to be used for both peak recognition and homogeneity validation. Furthermore, “diode bunching” in the wavelength domain leads to a further two-fold increase in sensitivity. This combination of column and detector technology has been utilised in the design of a sensitive serum micro-assay of the essential aromatic amino acids in paediatric samples, capable of being used with 500nl sample, sensitive to 13pg phenylalanine and 9pg tyrosine and linear over the requisite therapeutic range.