carbohydrates

Carbohydrate Analysis by IC and HPLC

High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) is an important tool to identify and quantify carbohydrates in food and beverage samples, providing key metrics of product quality and related properties, contamination, or adulteration. HPLC plays important roles in quality control, nutritional labeling, authenticity testing, and production processes monitoring, for example, tracking the fermentation of alcoholic beverages. Separation and detection in high-concentration carbohydrate mixtures, as found in the food and beverage industry, are made challenging by the wide variety of carbohydrate molecules and intricacy of carbohydrate mixtures existing in nature. Selection of the optimal HPLC approach depends on the sample matrix, carbohydrate concentration, selectivity, and sensitivity required. HPLC on aminopropyl-bonded silica or polymer-based metal-loaded cation-exchange resins, in conjunction with refractive index (RI) or lowwavelength UV detection, provide simple isocratic methods. In most cases, HPLC on metal-loaded cation-exchange resins with RI detection (HPLC-RI) is used to determine simple monoand disaccharides in the g/L range. However, some sample matrices require better resolution of sugars from sugar alcohols, organic acids, and sodium chloride.1 High-performance anionexchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAE-PAD) and specialized CarboPac columns solve these chromatographic and selectivity issues, while also allowing the determination of alcohols, glycols, and aldehydes. HPAE-PAD can separate sugars, sugar alcohols, oligo-, and polysaccharides with very high resolution, without derivatization or pre-concentration. This approach provides quantification to picomolar levels.2 Dionex offers HPLC-RI and HPLC-PAD solutions optimized for a wide variety of research and monitoring applications.

Passion. Power. Productivity.

HPLC-RI for Mono- and Disaccharides RI is the next most widely-used detection method for carbohydrates, as other alternatives such as fluorescence and UV-Vis detectors require pre-column derivatization of sugars. RI allows direct determination and quantification of sugars present in the percent range of most foods. Metal-loaded cation-exchange columns provide a simple, non-destructive method to separate carbohydrates using a deionized water mobile phase, which is compatible with RI detection. These columns separate compounds using a combination of size exclusion and ligand exchange mechanisms. For oligosaccharide separations using metal loaded columns, size exclusion is the primary separation mechanism. For monosaccharides, ligand exchange dominates. This mechanism involves the binding of hydroxyl groups in the sugars with the fixed counter-ion of the resin. Ligand exchange is affected by the nature of the counterion (Pb2+, Ca2+, etc.) and by the spatial orientation of the carbohydrates hydroxyl groups. Figure 1 shows the good area repeatability of HPLC-RI, with RSD of less than 0.8% for 100 consecutive injections of a sugar standard (c = 10 g/L each, injection volume: 20 L). Carbohydrates often occur as major components. Levels of individual sugars up to 5% may be quantified (Figures 2 and 3). HPAE-PAD Techniques The different selectivity of ion-exchange CarboPac columns with respect to metal-loaded columns can help to better separate carbohydrates and other species in complex matrices. Carbohydrates are separated by anion exchange chromatography at high pH, and detected by pulsed electrochemical detection.

25

Column: Eluent: Temperature: Flow Rate: Inj. Volume: Detection: 2 3 Peaks:

Aminex HPX87C Water 80 C 0.5 mL/min 20 L RI 1. Sucrose 2. Glucose 3. Fructose

RIU

-1 0 2 4 6 8 Minutes 10 12 15
24416

Figure 1. One-hundred consecutive chromatograms of a high-concentration carbohydrate standard.

50

Apple Juice
3 1

Column: Eluent: Temperature: Flow Rate: Inj. Volume: Detection: Peaks:

Aminex HPX87C Water 80 C 0.5 mL/min 20 L RI 1. Sucrose 2. Glucose 3. Fructose

RIU 2

-4 50

Orange Juice

1 Peaks: 1. Sucrose 2. Glucose 3. Fructose

RIU

-4 0 2 4 6 8 Minutes 10 12 15
24417

Figure 2. Analysis of glucose, fructose, and sucrose in fruit juices.

At high pH values, carbohydrates are deprotonated. The resulting anionic species can be separated by anionexchange mechanisms, typically using aqueous mobile phases such as NaOH or KOH. For oligosaccharide separations, the mobile phase also contains sodium acetate. Concentration gradients of sodium acetate facilitate the elution of oligosaccharides. High-pH eluents require the use of polymeric columns. Dionex CarboPac columns provide the basis for optimized carbohydrate separations using these conditions. Innovative Resin Technology The CarboPac PA20 column uses Dionex pellicular resin technology for improved chromatographic resolution, peak shape, and efficiency for the six common monosaccharides. CarboPac PA20 columns are packed with a hydrophobic, polymeric, pellicular anion exchange resin that is stable over pH 014. This unique pH-stability allows the use of eluent compositions that are conducive to oxidation of carbohydrates at gold electrodes. The MicroBead latex particle was optimized to further improve column performance by imparting a unique chromatographic selectivity. This selectivity results in a significantly improved resolution between the previously-problematic analytes galactose and glucosamine. Mono- and Disaccharide Separations Using HPAE-PAD Mono- and disaccharides important in food analysis are typically separated at eluent concentrations lower than 100 mmol/L NaOH. Coffee sugars, such as mannitol, arabinose, galactose, glucose, xylose, mannose, and fructose, can be separated with 2 mmol/L sodium hydroxide (Figure 4) using waveform A, which is described in Dionex Technical Note 21.3 For outstanding inter-run consistency, this analysis can be run using automatically-generated potassium hydroxide eluent on a Reagent-Free IC (RFIC) system with Eluent Generation (RFIC-EG system).

70

Red Wine

Column: Eluent: Temperature: Flow Rate: Inj. Volume: Detection: Peaks:

Shodex Sugar SC1011 Water 80 C 1.0 mL/min 20 L RI 1. Glucose

RIU

1 -5 70 3

White Wine

RIU

Peaks:

1. Sucrose 2. Glucose 3. Fructose

1 -5

10 Minutes

15

20
24418

Figure 3. Analysis of glucose, fructose, and sucrose in wine.

12

Column: Eluent: Flow Rate: Detection:

CarboPac PA20 2 mM NaOH, isocratic 0.5 mL/min Pulsed electrochemical detection, Au electrode Waveform: Waveform A 1 Peaks: 4 2 3 5 6 1. Mannitol 2. Arabinose 3. Galactose 4. Glucose 5. Xylose 6. Mannose 7. Fructose

nC

-4 0 2 4 6 Minutes
24418

10

12

14

Figure 4. Separation of coffee sugars using the CarboPac PA20 column.

The analysis of well-resolved sugars can be made faster by increasing the hydroxide concentration. Mono- and disaccharides important in dietary fiber analysis require higher concentrations of sodium hydroxide for timely elution and are readily eluted in less than 12 min with 52 mmol/L sodium hydroxide (Figure 5). This technique provides good resolution between the sugar alcohols and sugars in a single isocratic run. Predictable, High-Resolution Separation of Oligosaccharides There is a significant and increasing demand for reproducible, fast, and simple methods to profile oligosaccharides and homologous sugar series such as inulins, amylopectins, and maltooligosaccharides in the food industry. Most HPLC approaches proposed for these applications are limited by insufficient specificity and high limits of detection. The CarboPac PA200 is a nonporous, high-efficiency, polymeric anion-exchange column that provides the highest resolution available for oligosaccharide mapping and analysis through PAD. The resin consists of 5.5 m nonporous beads covered with a fine layer of functionalized MicroBead latex particles. This pellicular resin structure permits excellent mass transfer, resulting in high-resolution chromatography and rapid re-equilibration after gradient elution. The 3 250 mm column format provides fast separations. The recommended flow rate of 0.5 mL/min results in significant savings in eluent consumption. Linear Polysaccharide Profiling Inulin and fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) are increasingly used as functional food ingredients. Chain-length distribution profiles of commercial products such as those derived from inulin can be

50 5

Column: Gradient: Flow Rate: Detection: Waveform: Peaks:

CarboPac PA20 (3 150 mm) 52 mM Sodium hydroxide 0.5 mL/min Pulsed electrochemical, disposable gold electrode Waveform A 1. Glycerol 2. Xylitol 3. Sorbitol 4. Mannitol 5. Glucose 6. Fructose 7. Sucrose 8. Lactose

nC 1

2 3

8 7 6

5 Minutes

10

15
18874

Figure 5. Separation of sugar alcohols, mono- and disaccharides.

180

Columns: Gradient: Flow Rate: Detection: Samples:

CarboPac PA200 (3 250 mm) 120320 mM NaOAc in 100 mM NaOH over 40 min PA200: 0.5 mL/min Pulsed amperometry, Waveform A, gold electrode Inulin from chicory (Sigma)

nC

PA200 20

10

20

30 Minutes

40

50

60
20243

Figure 6. Inulin profile using the CarboPac PA200 column.

determined using HPAE-PAD with gradient elution (Figure 6). Commercial food ingredient products derived from the lower-molecular-weight fractions of inulin (DP3-20) can be determined by AOAC Method 997.08, an enzymatic preparation followed by HPLC. However, Dionex

has developed a more direct HPAE-PAD method that allows commercially available FOS and inulin products to be identified and quantified directly in a variety of foods: Application Note 150, Determination of Plant-Derived Neutral Oligo- and Polysaccharides Using the CarboPac PA200.4

Amylopectins HPAE-PAD with gradient elution has been used for structural studies on starch-derived materials such as amylopectins, since the chain length distribution is an important parameter for characterizing the molecular structure. These distributions can be used as fingerprints for the amylopectin source (Figure 7). Systems for Carbohydrate Analysis Dionex offers configurable systems to support carbohydrate analysis, from robust basic systems to dual-pump models that support parallel, tandem, and other high-productivity LC techniques. Optimized configurations for HPAE-PAD methods include the ICS3000 basic and dual systems described in the tables to the right. The ICS-3000 dual configuration with autosampler sharing supports one pump performing carbohydrate analysis, while the other with an optional ED or CD detector is available for other ion-exchange determinations for food and beverage applications (e.g., amino acids, organic acids, inorganic anions and cations, biogenic amines). For RI detection, Dionex features the UltiMate 3000 basic and x2 Dual systems, detailed in the tables below. The x2 configuration with autosampler sharing supports one pump performing carbohydrate analysis with RI detection, while the other is available for other gradient HPLC applications with UV detection (e.g., vitamins, organic acids, PAHs, pesticides).

330

Column: Eluent:

CarboPac PA200 and guard Sodium acetate gradient in 100 mM Sodium hydroxide 70 to 300 mM in 30 min Flow Rate: 0.5 mL/min Inj. volume: 5 L from 10 L loop Temperature: 30 C Detection: Pulsed amperometry, gold electrode Sample: Red Hook Amber Ale 1:50 dilution Waveform A: Quadruple potential

30

10 Minutes

15

20
24420

Figure 7. Amylopectins separated on the CarboPac PA200 column.

ICS-3000 Standard SyStem for Carbohydrate analySIS by hPae-Pad

Part number 061706 062629 063493 061790 061718 061756 061749 061360 description SP Gradient Pump with degasser EO Eluent Organizer (includes four, 2-L eluent bottles) EO Regulator Accessory and holder DC module with one temperature zone and one injection valve, micro bore ED Amperometric Detector (without cell and working electrode) ED Cell with reference electrode and spacer block ED Au working electrode, with gasket and polishing kit Chromeleon CHM-1 (including one timebase) PC OptiPlex 745 MT, standard model with 17 TFT, Windows XP Professional

ICS-3000 dual IC SyStem for food & beverage aPPlICatIonS

Part number 061710 062629 063493 061793 061718 061756 061749 061714 058900 060477 063353 063104 061364 060728 description DP Dual Pump - gradient/isocratic with degasser EO Eluent Organizer (includes four, 2-L eluent bottles) EO Regulator Accessory and holder DC module with two temperature zones and two injection valves, microbore ED Amperometric Detector (without cell and working electrode) ED cell with reference electrode and spacer block ED Au working electrode, with gasket and polishing kit EG Eluent Generator module EluGen II KOH cartridge CR-ATC Continuously Regenerated Anion Trap Column EG/DP vacuum degas conversion kit AS simultaneous injection with no injection valves Chromeleon CHM-1 (includes 2 timebases) Chromeleon Server option: PDA licence (3D data acquisition) PC OptiPlex 745 MT, standard model with 17 TFT, Windows XP Prof.

References 1. De Vries, J. W.; Nelson, A. L., Food Technology 1994, July, pp. 7677. 2. Dionex Corporation. Technical Note 20: Analysis of Carbohydrates by High-Performance Anion-Exchange Chromatography with Pulsed Amperometric Detection (HPAE-PAD). 2004. 3. Dionex Corporation. Technical Note 21: Optimal settings for pulsed amperometric detection of carbohydrates using the Dionex ED40 Electrochemical Detector. 1998. 4. Dionex Corporation. Application Update 150: Determination of PlantDerived Neutral Oligo- and Polysaccharides Using the CarboPac PA200. 2005.

ultImate 3000 Standard SyStem for Carbohydrate analySIS by hPlC-rI

Part number 5035.9250 5035.0010 5035.0600 5722.0000 5060.0030 5960.0067 description SRD-3200 Solvent Rack with two degasser channels ISO-3100A isocratic analytical pump UltiMate 3000 Manual Injection Valve analytical/micro, with mounting kit and 20 L sample loop TCC-3000 Thermostatted Column Compartment RI 101 Refractive Index Detector Chromeleon CHM-1 (includes one timebase) PC OptiPlex 745 MT, standard model with 17 TFT, Windows XP Professional

ultImate 3000 x 2 dual-gradIent hPlC SyStem for food & beverage aPPlICatIonS
Part number 5035.9230 5035.0014 5822.0020 5722.0010 6037.0004 5080.0020 6080.0210 5060.0030 5960.0068 5960.0020 description Solvent Rack SRD-3600 with six degasser channels x2 Dual-Gradient Analytical Pump DGP-3600A Analytical in-line split loop thermostatted autosampler WPS-3000TSL Thermostatted Column Compartment TCC-3100 1x2P-6P with 2-position 6-port switching valve Parallel Operation Capillary Kit, Dual-Gradient Analytical Photodiode Array Detector PDA-3000, without flow cell Absorbance Cell for PDA-3000, 13 L, SST, 10 mm path RI 101 Refractive Index- Detector Chromeleon CHM-2 for two UltiMate 3000 LC systems Chromeleon Server option: 3-D Data Acquisition PC OptiPlex 745 MT, Standard Model with 17 TFT, Windows XP Professional

MicroBead, Reagent-Free, RFIC and RFIC-EG are trademarks and Chromeleon, UltiMate, EluGen, and CarboPac are registered trademarks of Dionex Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Aminex is trademark of BioRad Corporation. Shodex is trademark of Showa, Ltd.

Passion. Power. Productivity.

dionex Corporation 1228 Titan Way P.O. Box 3603 Sunnyvale, CA 94088-3603 (408) 737-0700
north america europe asia Pacific

U.S. (847) 295-7500 Canada (905) 844-9650

South america

Brazil (55) 11 3731 5140

Austria (43) 1 616 51 25 Benelux (31) 20 683 9768; (32) 3 353 4294 Denmark (45) 36 36 90 90 France (33) 1 39 30 01 10 Germany (49) 6126 991 0 Ireland (353) 1 644 0064 Italy (39) 02 51 62 1267 Switzerland (41) 62 205 9966 United Kingdom (44) 1276 691722

Australia (61) 2 9420 5233 China (852) 2428 3282 India (91) 22 2764 2735 Japan (81) 6 6885 1213 Korea (82) 2 2653 2580 Singapore (65) 6289 1190 Taiwan (886) 2 8751 6655

www.dionex.com

LPN 1971 8M 09/07 2007 Dionex Corporation