Comparison of pulsed coulometric detection and potential-sweep pulsed coulometric detection for underivatized amino acids in liquid chromatography

Pulsed coulometric detection (PCD) and potential-sweep pulsed coulometric detection (PS-PCD) are applied to the direct detection of amino acids in protein hydrolyzates. The detection mechanisms are based upon surface-catalyzed oxidation of the amine functionalities activated by the transient formation of surface oxide on Au electrodes. PCD uses a triple-step potential waveform in which the integration of electrode current at a constant potential is followed by anodic and cathodic polarizations to clean and reactivate the electrode surface. PS-PCD incorporates a cyclic potential sweep into the triple-step waveform which proceeds through the formation and subsequent removal of the surface oxide with simultaneous current integration. Reactions catalyzed by the formation of the noble metal oxide can be monitored in PS-PCD with the automatic rejection of the surface oxide background. A significant decrease is obtained also in the fluctuation and drift in the base line resulting from gradient elution and variations of the electrode surface. PCD and PS-PCD following gradient elution chromatography are demonstrated to allow for the direct detection of 20 amino acids including secondary amino acids. Detection limits for lysine are ca. 220 ppb (11 ng, 75 pmol) by PCD and 60 ppb (3 ng, 19 pmol) by PS-PCD applied at gold electrodes.