Identification of the Main Ethylenediamine Condensate of Noradrenaline with that of Catechol

Abstract

BECAUSE of the importance of fluorometric microanalysis of catecholamines, the ethylenediamine condensation method¹ should be examined in detail. The specificity of this method for noradrenaline might be important. In previous communications^2,3, we indicated that the main condensation product of noradrenaline or of 3,4-dihydroxymandelic acid is considered to be the same as that of catechol, and that the side-chain of noradrenaline or of 3,4-dihydroxymandelic acid might be damaged severely during the condensation reaction. Weil-Malherbe⁴ reported that with catechol, noradrenaline and 3,4-dihydroxymandelic acid, two main products which appear to be identical for the three compounds are formed. According to Joly and Nadeau⁵, at least three of the fluorescent spots on a two-dimensional paper chromatogram of an ethylenediamine condensate of tagged adrenaline (β-¹⁴C-DL-adrenaline) were not radioactive, and these three fluorescent spots were found to be common to the three chromatograms obtained from adrenaline, noradrenaline and catechol.