CHROMATOGRAPHY, Vol. 28 (2007), No. 1, pp. 9-17

Carboxylic acids are biologically important compounds in living systems, and their activated forms play important roles in a variety of biochemical processes, including energy transduction, biosynthesis, and metabolism. In general, activated carboxylic acids under physiological conditions are highly chemically reactive, and can form covalently bound protein adducts, which may cause hypersensitive reactions. Accordingly, considerable attention has been focused on the dynamics of the formation and degradation of activated carboxylic acids in relation to the toxic side effects of drugs. Therefore, reliable analytical methods to quantify activated carboxylic acids are essential. In this study, we focused on acyl glycosides, one of the activated forms of carboxylic acids, and developed a highly sensitive method to determine these substances in biological specimens.