Quantitative estimation of heterocyclic aromatic amines by ion-exchange chromatography and electrochemical detection

Conditions for the quantitative determination of three heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs), produced by heat processing of protein-rich food products, were established for a HPLC-electrochemical detection system. The separation of 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ), 2-amino-3,4-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (MeIQ) and 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (MeIQ(x)) was achieved on an ion-exchange column with acetonitrile-80 mM phosphate buffer (30:70) mobile phase at pH 5.6. The figures of merit were calculated. Reproducibility gave a relative standard deviation of 1.6-2.4% when measured by peak area. Detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio 3) ranged from 35 pg for MeIQ(x) to 70 pg for MeIQ. The method was applied to the determination of HAAs in a commercial beef extract sample.