A sustainable HPTLC approach for green assessment of Tyrosine to phenylalanine ratio in chronic kidney disease

Abstract

The kidney is considered the main site for the net release of Tyrosine (Tyr) to the circulation through hydroxylation of Phenylalanine (Phe) using phenylalanine hydroxylase enzyme. In chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients the enzyme activity is impaired, therefore the serum concentration ratio of Tyr/Phe is reduced compared to healthy individuals. This motivates us to develop a cost effective, green, simple, sensitive, and selective HPTLC method to measure the levels of Tyr and Phe in serum samples. The analysis was carried out using acetonitrile: ethanol: 25% ammonia solution: ethyl acetate (6.5: 1.5: 1: 0.5) as a mobile phase. Rf values were 0.55 ± 0.05 for Phe and 0.39 ± 0.05 for Tyr. Densitometry scanning was performed using UV detector and dual wavelengths of 210 and 225 nm were obtained. A linear correlation was observed between the levels of Phe and Tyr, ranging from 50 to 700 ng band− 1 and 50 to 600 ng band− 1, respectively, under the optimum conditions. The method selectivity, linearity, precision, accuracy, and robustness were all confirmed in accordance with ICH recommendations. Calculations of the separation and resolution factors, number of theoretical plates, and height equivalent to theoretical plates prove to the chromatographic system accuracy and high separation efficiency. The developed method exhibits an acceptable eco-scale when measuring the method greenness using AGREE and GAPI softwares. It was applied for the determination of Phe and Tyr concentrations in human serum samples.