Electrochemical detection of cyanogenic glycosides after enzymatic post-column cleavage

Crude and partly purified extracts from Helix pomatia and linamarase from cassava were immobilized on columns packed with porous glass or silica and used as post-column reactors in the high-performance liquid chromatography of cyanogenic glycosides. Sodium hydroxide (2 M) was added to the flowstream after the enzyme-reactor resulting in the formation of cyanide, which was then detected at a silver electrode by an amperometric measurement at 0 V with reference to a silver-silver chloride electrode. The selective detection of cyanide allows measurements in a complex matrix. The response is linear and the detection limit is in the low picomole range.