Characterization of amino acids and proteinaceous materials using online tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) thermochemolysis and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry technique

An on-line thermochemolysis technique using tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) for the characterization of amino acids and proteinaceous materials was developed. Amino acids were converted to their corresponding N-and O-methyl derivatives by TMAH in the pyrolysis chamber for 15 s at 300 degreesC prior to separation and detection by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Thermochemolysis reactions of TMA-H with protein and macromolecular environmental sample were also performed. Results show that the peptide bonds were effectively cleaved by therniochemolysis reaction, yielding individual amino acid methyl esters. Thus, this on-line TMAH thermochemolysis technique is an easy and efficient method for the characterization of amino acids and proteinaceous materials. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.