Determination of biogenic amines by capillary electrophoresis.

A method for determining biogenic amines in food using micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography has been developed. Derivatization of the amines was performed with AccQ (6-aminoquinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate; Waters, Milford, MA, USA) reagent. The influence of buffer composition on the separation (including pH, SDS concentration and various additives) was investigated. The separation of seven biogenic amines (histamine, tyramine, tryptamine, spermine, spermidine, cadaverine and putrescine) could be achieved within 25-30 min with good repeatability. The biogenic amine profiles in three different food samples (wine, salami and chive) were determined and quantitated.