High-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAE-PAD) overcomes the limitations other methods and delivers fast carbohydrate analysis. However, due to the high concentration of the biofuel samples, a several-fold sample dilution must be performed before analysis, introducing a source of error. In this study, 2 hardware modifications were applied to handle high-concentration samples: A reduced injection volume from 10 to 0.4 μL and an increase in spacer gasket thickness in the electrochemical flow cell to 62 mil to reduce detection sensitivity.

Wood, grass, and other lignocellulosic biomass are emerging as the preferred sources for biofuel and biochemical production. Compositional analysis of plant derived material is crucial for maximizing the yield of biofuel production. A single HPAE-PAD method, which uses the Dionex CarboPac PA20 column, can be used for the simultaneous determination of mono- and disaccharides and uronic acids.

The second method in this application note takes advantage of the selectivity and high capacity of the Dionex CarboPac MA1 column. Use of this column allows mannitol to be strongly retained with minimal interferences. These advantages have led to many publications that can be found in the reference section of the application note.

Certain carbohydrates such as mannitol, rhamnose, xylose, 3-O-methylglucose, and lactulose can be determined in urine and serum samples to evaluate disease states in animals and humans. These carbohydrates can be determined directly by HPAE-PAD, a well-established technique that eliminates the need for derivitization, in turn saving time and money. In this work, the separation and detection of the same carbohydrates of interest discussed in AN 1006 are demonstrated using a capillary Dionex CarboPac PA20 anion-exchange column on the ICS-4000 Dedicated Capillary HPIC system.

A fast method using the Dionex CarboPac SA10 column was tested for determining the common coffee carbohydrates. This column achieves fast, high resolution separation of mono- and disaccharides commonly found in food samples. The Dionex CarboPac SA10 column is composed of a wide-pore macroporous substrate coated with a strong anion-exchange latex of nano-beads. The combination of the high capacity provided by the substrate and the new internal chemistry of the nano-bead functionality delivers high resolution and short analysis time for the common sugars of interest in food and beverages.