Abstract
3-Bromomethyl-6, 7-methylenedioxy-1-methyl-2(1H)-quinoxalinone was found to be a highly sensitive fluorescence derivatization reagent for carboxylic acids in high-performance liquid chromatography. Its reaction conditions were optimized for various linear C3-C20 saturated fatty acids. The reagent reacts with the fatty acids in acetonitrile in the presence of 18-crown-6 and potassium carbonate to produce the corresponding fluorescent derivatives, which can be separated on a reversed-phase column, Radial-Pak C18 cartridge, by gradient elution with 35-100% (v/v) aqueous methanol. The detection limits for the acids were 0.2-0.8 fmol for an injection volume of 10μl.
