Determination of astaxanthin and astaxanthin esters in the microalgae Haematococcus pluvialis by LC-(APCI)MS and characterization of predominant carotenoid isomers by NMR spectroscopy.

The oily product ZANTHIN consists of natural astaxanthin, which is manufactured from the microalgae Haematococcus pluvialis by supercritical CO(2) extraction. An HPLC method was developed to separate all of the components of the complex astaxanthin extract using a C(30) column. The separation resulted in different isomers of astaxanthin accompanied by two other carotenoids.

Phase optimized liquid chromatography as an instrument for steroid analysis.

A new method using phase optimized LC (POPLC) for the analysis of steroids is described. The retention factors and the theoretical plate numbers of different steroids were determined for four different stationary phases. Based on these values, an optimal stationary phase composition and the resultant chromatogram have been calculated by an optimization software and compared to the measured data.

Characterization of bixin by LC-MS and LC-NMR.

An overview upon modern analytical techniques for the isolation, separation, and structural identification of the essential bioactive carotenoid bixin is given. Isolation from biological matrices is performed by matrix solid phase dispersion (MSPD). The extract is separated with shape-selective C(30 )columns.

Hyphenation of gas chromatography to microcoil 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Whereas the hyphenation of gas chromatography (GC) with mass spectrometry is of great importance, little is known about the coupling to nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). The investigation of this technique is an attractive proposition because of the valuable information given by NMR on molecular structure. The experiments shown here are to our knowledge the first hyphenating capillary GC to microcoil NMR.

Application of polymer based stationary phases in high performance liquid chromatography and capillary high performance liquid chromatography hyphenated to microcoil 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

The increased demand for chromatographic materials that are able to achieve a fast separation of large quantities of structure analogues is a great challenge. It is known that polymer based chromatographic materials have a higher loadability, compared to silica based sorbents. Unfortunately these polymer materials cannot be used under high pressure which is necessary in order to obtain high flow rates, and hence long times are needed to perform a separation.

Structure elucidation of deoxylutein II isomers by on-line capillary high performance liquid chromatography-(1)H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Thermal and iodine-catalyzed photochemical (Z/E)-isomerization of deoxylutein II [(3R,6'R)-3-hydroxy-3',4'-didehydro-beta,gamma-carotene, anhydrolutein I] (2), the dehydration product of lutein [(3R,3'R,6'R)-beta,epsilon-carotene-3,3'-diol] (4), yielded multi-component mixtures of (Z)-isomers. By I(2)-catalyzed photoisomerization, (9Z)-2, (9'Z)-2, (13Z)-2, (13'Z)-2 and (15Z)-2 are generated as main products. In addition, this thermodynamic-equilibrium mixture contains traces of (9Z,9'Z)-2 and other (di-Z)-isomers in minor concentrations.

Unambiguous detection of astaxanthin and astaxanthin fatty acid esters in krill (Euphausia superba Dana).

HPLC atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI)/MS, GC MS, HPLC diode array detection (DAD), and NMR were used for the identification of astaxanthin and astaxanthin fatty acid esters in krill (Euphausia superba Dana). Matrix solid phase dispersion was applied for the extraction of the carotenoids. This gentle and expeditious extraction technique for solid and viscous samples leads to distinct higher enrichment rates than the conventional liquid-liquid extraction.