Products of the reaction between alpha- or gamma-tocopherol and nitrogen oxides analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV-visible and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometric detection.

The reaction products of alpha- or gamma-tocopherol with nitric oxide in the presence of molecular oxygen were isolated and characterized. The consumption of tocopherols and the formation of the major products were monitored by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) by a gradient elution method. The quantitative analysis of these compounds with UV-Vis detectors, however, was interfered by several minor products having similar UV spectra and retention times as those of the major ones. In order to establish a quantitative analytical method for the products, we investigated other detection methods, and found that atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI), LC-MS was a more selective and better analytical method for these compounds.