Reversed-phase liquid chromatographic separation of platinum(II) complexes of methionine- and histidine-containing peptides using perfluorinated carboxylic acids as ion-pairing reagents

Preparative separation of underivatized amino acids for compound-specific stable isotope analysis and radiocarbon dating of hydrolyzed bone collagen

Analysis of stable and radioactive isotopes from bone collagen provides useful information to archaeologists about the origin and age of bone artifacts. Isolation and analysis of single amino acids from the proteins can provide additional and more accurate information by removing contamination and separating a bulk isotope signal into its constituent parts. In this paper, we report a new method for the separation and isolation of underivatized amino acids from bone collagen, and their analysis by isotope ratio MS and accelerator MS. RP chromatography is used to separate the amino acids with nonpolar side chains, followed by an ion pair separation to isolate the remaining amino acids. The method produces single amino acids with little or no contamination from the separation process and allows for the measurement of accurate stable isotope ratios and pure samples for radiocarbon dating.

Cisplatin-mediated selective hydrolytic cleavage of methionine-containing peptides with neighboring serine or histidine residues

The pH- and time-dependent reactions of the anticancer drug cisplatin, cis-[PtCl(2)(NH(3))(2)], with the peptides Ac-Gly-Met-Gly-OH, Ac-Ser-Met-OH and Ac-Met-His-OH (Gly=glycyl, Met=methionyl, Ser=seryl, His=histidyl) at 313 K have been investigated by high-performance liquid chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry. In the major equimolar reaction pathway for Ac-Gly-Met-Gly-OH, rapid anchoring at the methionine sulphur (kappaS) is followed by successive metalations of the methionine N(M) and glycyl N(G1) amide nitrogens in N-terminal direction to afford bidentate kappa(2)S,N(M) and tridentate kappa(3)S, N(M),N(G1) complexes. Cleavage of acetic acid at the second upstream amide bond is observed after 10 h leading to slow formation of [Pt(H-Gly-MetH(-1)-Gly-OH-kappa(3)S,N(M),N(G1))(NH(3))](+) at pH<6. [Pt(H-Ser-MetH(-1)-OH-kappa(3)S,N(M),N(S))(NH(3))](+) results from an analogous cisplatin-mediated regioselective hydrolytic cleavage reaction for Ac-Ser-Met-OH in moderately acid solution (pH<4). After passing through a minimum at pH 4.4, the concentration of the cleavage product in the reaction mixture after 500 h increases steadily on raising the pH and release of acetic acid is effectively quantitative for 7pH9.5. A competing mechanism involving nucleophilic attack of the serine side chain on the acetyl function can be inferred for pH>6 by the HPLC detection of a second intermediate kappa(3)S,N(M),N(S) species. In striking contrast, the reaction of cisplatin with Ac-Met-His-OH leads to release of acetylmethionine and formation of a final histidine product cis-[PtCl(H-His-OH-kappa(2)N3,N(H)) (NH(3))](+) at pH<6 by a kappaS-->kappa(2)S, N3-->kappa(3)S, N(H),N3-->kappa(2)N3,N(H)(H-His-OH) pathway.