Homocysteinaemia is recognised as an independent risk factor for arteriosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Increases of 10-15 % in the level of homocysteine raises the risk of coronary heart disease and cerebral vascular incident by approximately 3 to 4 fold. Homocysteine is an important sulphur containing amino acid in the metabolism of Methionine and Cysteine. With the ALEXYS system a highly sensitive, economical, reproducible and rapid method for the analysis of homocysteine in plasma by isocratic reversed phase LC with electrochemical detection (EC) has been developed. The detection limit with standards is 0.3 nmol/L, RSD in peak heights is better than 1% and homocysteine is eluted within 5 minutes. Recovery from plasma samples is nearly 100%. The chromatogram shows the analysis of homocysteine ([1] 39 µmol/L) and 2MPG ([2] 98 µmol/L) in plasma.
- Direct detection, no derivatisation
- Standardized, fast and reliable assay
- Selective detection on gold electrode
- Robust & reproducible
System configuration
For the analysis of homocysteine we selected the VT03 electrochemical cell with gold working electrode. This cell has an excellent reproducibility and selectivity for thiol compounds.
The ALEXYS system comprises the following parts:
- AS 110 autosampler, cool
- LC 110S HPLC pump
- DECADE II electrochemical detector, SDC
- VT03 cell with Au WE, 3 mm ID, ISAAC
- OR 110 organiser rack
- LC connection kit
- USB connection kit, 3 port
- Clarity data acquisition software
