Versatile derivatization reactions with 4-lodobutaneboronic and 2,4-dichlorobenzeneboronic acids

Electron-capture, capillary column gas chromatographic determination of low-molecular-weight diols in serum

Research on alcoholism has revealed that concentrations of 1,2-propanediol, d,1-2,3-butanediol and meso-2,3-butanediol may be greater in the serum of chronic alcoholics than in the serum of social drinkers and nondrinkers. In connection with one of these studies, we developed methodology to determine these diols at the micromolar levels in 500 serum samples. The procedure consisted primarily of extraction of the serum with acetonitrile containing internal standard. The extract was then concentrated to dryness and reacted with p-bromophenylboric acid. The reaction mixture was injected into a gas chromatograph fitted with a capillary column and an electron-capture detector. The total coefficients of variation were best for 1,2-propanediol, 6.82 and 10.00%, and worst for d,1-2,3-butanediol, 13.64 and 19.22%. The observed means for the analytes were all within 10% of the spiked level.

Formation of electron-capturing derivatives of alprenolol by transboronation: application to the determination of alprenolol in plasma

The reaction between 2,4-dichlorobenzeneboronic acid, 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzeneboronic acid or the 1,3-propanediamine derivatives of the boronic acids and the 3-isopropylaminopropan-2-ol side chain of the beta-blocking drugs occurs essentially as an on-column thermal reaction in the gas phase. Derivatization of the side chain of the beta-blocking drugs by transboronation is shown to be the method of choice for general application as it affects the detector background signal very little compared to the use of the boronic acid itself. The transboronation reaction can be used for the determination of alprenolol in plasma extracts with a detection limit of 2.5 ng ml-1 using the electron-capture detector. The ultimate sensitivity of the method is limited by the detector background signal resulting from some column decomposition of the transboronation reagent.