석동욱 (한국표준과학연구원)

정지선 (한국표준과학연구원)

석동욱 (한국표준과학연구원)

정지선 (한국표준과학연구원)

Amino acid profiling serves as a crucial tool in understanding the metabolic status of organisms. Especially in metabolomics, amino acid profiling provides essential insights into physiological conditions, disease progression, nutritional status, and beyond. The ion pairing LC-MS/MS method adopted in this study offers straightforward measurement with improved retention and separation capabilities for underivatized amino acids based on their diverse chemical properties. The method employs a combination of two representative ion pairing reagents, heptafluorobutyric acid and trifluoroacetic acid with 0.2 % and 0.1 %, respectively. Fourteen amino acids (Pro, Val, Leu, Ile, Phe, Tyr, His, Met, Asp, Thr, Arg, Trp, Glu, and Gln) with various properties were successfully separated and determined in optimized LC-MS conditions. The method was strictly validated in linear range, analytical sensitivity, accuracy and precision assessment for application to amino acid analysis in various matrices such as buffer, cell media, and plasma, etc. Finally, the optimized measurement procedure was verified by comparison with certified reference materials. The proposed method was successfully applied to certification of amino acids in buffer and plasma samples as reference measurement procedure. This proposed amino acid measurement method is expected to contribute to accurate analysis and play a crucial role in various research and clinical application, including drug toxicity assessment and personalized medicine diagnostics.​