ATOMIC-ABSORPTION DETECTION FOR LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY USING METAL LABELING

A new selective liquid chromatographic detector, the labeling of the compounds of interest by binding or complexing with an appropriate metal, and detecting the compound as it elutes from the column using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer is described. As an example, some results for the determination of the amino acid, histidine, using its copper-binding property are reported. Also described is the use of the ″injection method″ of atomic absorption, which has some advantages when used with liquid chromatography. About 1 mu g of histidine was detected. It was calculated that about 50 ng of histidine in the injected sample could be detected with better chromatography. The method is adaptable to detection limits in the pg range using graphite furnace atomic absorption.