Non-ionic micellar electrokinetic chromatography with laser-induced fluorescence: A new method tested with biogenic amines in brined and dry-salted fish

A non-ionic micellar electrokinetic chromatography method coupled to laser-induced fluorescence detection was developed for the quantitative determination of biogenic amines. Complete resolution of six biogenic amines - FITC derivatives - was achieved in less than 10 min, employing 10 mM Brij 35 in 75 mM borate buffer and at pH 9.7 as the running electrolyte. Relative fluorescence intensities of biogenic amines enhanched considerably and separation time decreased considerably when Brij 35 was substituted for SDS in the same buffer. The detection limits of the method for biogenic amines were found between 0.416 and 1.26 nM. The precisions for the corrected peak areas were calculated as between 1.63 and 3.24 %RSD. The applicability of the method was demonstrated by analyzing biogenic amines in the processed, brined, and dry-salted fish samples. The method is simple and rapid, and widely applicable for the determination of biogenic amines in food samples.