Ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) for the determination of organic acids – The intermediates of branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis in Escherichia coli strains

Simple and rapid reverse-phase ultra-performance liquid chromatography with UV-detection (RP-UPLC-UV) was developed and validated for the simultaneous analysis of 2-isopropylmalate (2-IPM), 3-isopropylmalate (3-IPM), ketoisovalerate (KIV), ketoisocaproate (KIC), and α-keto-β-methylvalerate (KMV) in the culture fluid (CF) of branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) Escherichia coli strain producers. The RP-UPLC-UV method was developed using a Waters Acquity BEH C18 column (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.7 μm) with a mobile phase consisting of phosphate monobasic salt adjusted to a pH of 3.5 and methanol solution. The flow rate of the mobile phase was 0.5 mL min−1 with gradient elution. The RP-UPLC-UV method was compared with reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with UV-detection (RP-HPLC-UV), ion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography with UV-detection (IE-HPLC-UV), and ion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (IE-HPLC-ECD) and a postcolumn buffer for organic acid analysis. The proposed RP-UPLC-UV method was highly sensitive (LOD for KIV was 2.5 × 10−3 mg mL−1, for 2-IPM – 4.5 × 10−3 mg mL−1, for 3-IPM – 4.4 × 10−3 mg mL−1, for KIC – 3.4 × 10−3 mg mL−1, and for KMV – 2.8 × 10−3 mg mL−1) and successfully applied for the analysis of organic acids in the CF of E. coli strain producers.