Vitamins are involved in a variety of different physiological processes and must be assimilated with the daily nutrition as they cannot be synthesized within the human body. The biochemical functions of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) are mainly linked to its antioxidant and radical scavenger properties. In addition, it is involved in various enzyme-catalyzed reactions as a cofactor. Symptoms of deficiency range from tiredness, increased infection susceptibility to gum bleeding as well as aching joints, bones, and muscles. Prolonged deficiency can provoke the development of scurvy.
To predict insufficient or excessive vitamin intake, robust and reliable analytical instrumentation is needed. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with UV detection is the method of choice in many clinical laboratories. This application note describes the evaluation of the suitability of the PerkinElmer LC 300™ HPLC System for the quantitation of vitamin A, E, and C in biological fluids using IVD-CE certified HPLC kits from two leading manufacturers.