Simple high-performance liquid chromatographic assay for polyamines and their monoacetyl derivatives.

A rapid reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method, using pre-column derivatization with benzoyl chloride and ultraviolet detection at 254 nm, was developed for the simultaneous measurement of polyamines and their monoacetyl derivatives. Calibration curves were linear for concentrations from 1.25 to 25 nmol/ml. The method was employed to assay these compounds in chick embryo retina explants using organic solvent extraction and 1,7-diaminoheptane as an internal standard. This simple and sensitive method can be applied to routine determinations of these compounds in various biological samples.