Analyses of Phytohormones in Coconut (Cocos Nucifera L.) Water Using Capillary Electrophoresis-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) or tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) is reported as an alternative and potentially useful method for the simultaneous analysis of various classes of phytohormones with diversified structures, including indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), abscisic acid (ABA), gibberellic acid (GA), zeatin (Z), N-benzyladenine (BA), α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). The key to the CE-MS/MS analysis was based on electroosmotic flow reversal using a cationic polymer-coated capillary. Under optimum conditions, a baseline separation of eight phytohormones was accomplished within 30 min using 60 mM ammonium formate/formic acid buffer of pH 3.8 with −20 kV as the separation voltage. The accessibility of MS/MS together with the characterization by migration properties obtained by CE allows for the development of CE-MS/MS as an emerging potential method for the analysis of different classes of phytohormones in a single run. The utility of the CE-MS/MS method was demonstrated by the comprehensive screening of phytohormones in coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) water after pre-concentration and purification through solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge. IAA, ABA, GA and Z were detected and quantified in the purified coconut water extract sample. OPEN ACCESS Chromatography 2014, 1 212