Amino acid analysis in micrograms of meteorite sample by nanoliquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry

Amino acids and their enantiomers in a 360 microgram sample of Murchison meteorite were unambiguously identified and quantified using chemical derivatization and nanoliquid chromatography coupled to nanoelectrospray ionization high resolution orbitrap mass spectrometry techniques. The distribution and abundance of amino acids were similar to past studies of Murchison meteorite but the samples used here were three orders of magnitude lower. The analytical method was also highly sensitive, and some amino acid reference standards were successfully detected at a level of ~200 attomoles (on column). These results may open up the possibility for investigating other less studied, sample-limited extraterrestrial samples (e.g., micrometeorites, interplanetary dust particles, and cometary particles) for biologically-relevant organic molecules.