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This paper describes a simple and sensitive method for detection of [Leu]- and [Met]enkephalin and their N-terminal tyrosine-containing metabolic fragments (Tyr, Tyr-Gly, Tyr-Gly-Gly, and Tyr-Gly-Gly-Phe), using high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. The method employs a carbon graphite working electrode with increased working electrode surface area (40 mm2). The procedures were applied to assay of the activities of enkephalin-degrading enzymes in whole plasma collected from rats, mice, and chicks.

A simple and sensitive procedure for simultaneous determination of monoamine transmitters and related substances including precursors and metabolites has been developed for a single mouse brain. The proposed procedure involves (1) primary butanol extraction, (2) separation of the substances into either acid or alkaline aqueous layers according to their physicochemical properties, and (3) determination by means of high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Three transmitters (noradrenaline, dopamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine) and their precursors (tyrosine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine and tryptophan) and major metabolites (normethanephrine, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethylene glycol, 3-methoxytyramine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid) were selectively separated and sensitively detected in mouse whole brain sample. Although 3-methoxy-4-hydroxymandelic acid was also separated from other substances by authentic chromatography, the substance was not detected in mouse brain. Changes in levels of these substances were examined for drugs whose effects had been previously confirmed. These changes reflected putative effects of the drugs and confirmed that the procedure is effective for neurochemical research into the transmitter system.

A simple procedure for the simultaneous determination of morphine and monoamine transmitters was developed. The procedure consisted of (1) n-butanol extraction and (2) separation and quantitative determination by means of high-performance liquid chromatography combined with electrochemical detection. The maximum intracerebral concentration (210 +/- 35 ng/g wet tissue) of morphine was detected 30 min after intramuscular injection (10 mg/kg), which agreed with previous research. Noradrenaline was significantly decreased by morphine injection, while dopamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine were unchanged. However, 3-methoxytyramine, a metabolite of dopamine, was increased, suggesting that the drug increased the turnover rate of dopamine. The procedure used revealed a direct correlation between pharmacokinetics (e.g., distribution of morphine) and pharmacodynamics (e.g. changes of monoamine concentrations) of the drug in vivo.