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Separation of DNA sequencing fragments using an automated capillary electrophoresis instrument.

Rapid, high-resolution separation of DNA sequencing fragments by capillary gel electrophoresis using an automated, commercially available instrument is presented. The effect of column lengths and electric field strength on the resolution of sequencing fragments as well as the sensitivity of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection was investigated. Using a short capillary of 20 cm length, which results in a U-shape of the capillary in the capillary cartridge, very high separation efficiency, up to 17 x 10(6) theoretical plates per m, is obtained. Analysis of the band broadening factors revealed that the resolution on the short column is predominantly determined by axial diffusion and to a minor extent by detection zone width. Presumably due to the coiling of longer capillaries in the capillary cartridge, increasing the capillary length does not increase the separation efficiency as predicted for diffusion-limited separation. The concentration limit of detection (signal-to-noise ratio = 2) is 0.2 x 10(-12) M of fluorescein-labeled oligonucleotide primer under the separating conditions for DNA sequencing samples. Increasing the electric field strength from 100 to 175 V/cm improved resolution and at the same time approximately doubled the sequencing speed. Fragments up to 500 nucleotides in length are resolved in less than 50 min.

Autoanalysis↗

Identification of human myocardial proteins separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry.

Disease-associated proteins separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) are often in the femtomole range. Identification of 2-DE separated proteins by sequencing and amino acid analysis is limited to the lower picomole range. Identification down to the femtomole range can be achieved by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). We optimized the measurement by MALDI-MS for the analysis of proteolytic digests of 2-DE-separated proteins. The direct analysis of peptide mixtures can be used for rapid and sensitive protein identification. In some cases, more information about the protein can be obtained by separating the peptides by micro high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) before employing MALDI-MS analysis. More peptides are found than in the mixtures, and comparison of HPLC patterns can reveal some differences to be post-translational modifications of proteins, even in the case of identical peptide mass fingerprints. Furthermore, carboxy-terminal sequencing by on-target carboxypeptidase P digestion can be used to confirm the obtained result without the need for more material. The search program FRAGFIT was modified and renamed FRAGMOD to include the modifications of methionine and tryptophan oxidation and alkylation of cysteine by acrylamide into the mass search. By applying this procedure, 15 proteins were identified, among them two different putative phosphorylated forms of two proteins, a putative N-terminal blocking group and four dilated cardiomyopathy-associated proteins. The resulting approach for the identification may be used for large-scale investigations of 2-DE-separated proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The effects of polymer properties on DNA separations by capillary electrophoresis in uncross-linked polymer solutions.

Low-viscosity, aqueous solutions of hydrophilic linear polymers have been shown to be useful for the separation of DNA restriction fragments by capillary electrophoresis (CE). However, the choice of polymer type, size, and concentration remains largely empirical, because the mechanism of high-field electrophoretic DNA separations in polymer solutions is not well understood. To assist in elucidating the mechanism of DNA separation, we experimentally investigated the effects of polymer properties such as stiffness (persistence length), average molecular mass, polydispersity, and hydrophilicity on the separation of DNA ranging from 72 bp to 23 kbp. This was accomplished by comparing the results of DNA separations obtained by counter-migration CE in dilute and semidilute solutions of linear polyacrylamide (PAA), hydroxyethyl-cellulose (HEC), and hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) polymers of several different average molecular masses.

Acrylic Resins↗

Comparison of behavior of N-substituted acrylamides and celluloses on double-stranded DNA separations by capillary electrophoresis at 25 degrees and 60 degrees C.

The behavior of N-substituted poly(acrylamides) and of cellulose in the separation of double-stranded DNA by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) is evaluated. Contrary to previously held belief, which attributed best separations in poly(acrylamides) to small DNA fragments (typically in the 50-1000 bp size range) and in celluloses to large DNA fragments, we show that also celluloses can achieve fine sieving of short DNA sizes provided they are used at much higher concentrations than previously reported. For example, in the case of hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC), typically used at 0.2-0.8% concentrations, levels of 3% produce excellent patterns, at 25 degrees C, in the 50-600 bp size range. If separations are conducted at 60 degrees C, sieving is lost in most liquid polymers. However, if the concentration of HEC is raised to 6% and that of hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) above 1%, sieving is fully restored. Also, N-substituted acrylamido derivatives, notably N-acryloylaminoethoxyethanol (AAEE) and N-acryloylaminopropanol (AAP) offer excellent performance at both 25 degrees and 60 degrees C, whereas plain poly(acrylamide) irreversibly collapses at high temperatures, possibly due to intrinsic instability of the amido bond under such harsh conditions. Among all the polymers investigated, an 8% solution of poly(AAP) offers the best performance and highest theoretical plates in the 25 degree-60 degree C interval. Separations at high temperatures are necessary when dealing with detection of point mutations in temperature-programmed CZE and are preferred in DNA sequencing. Two additional advantages are evident when running DNA separations at 60 degrees C: a marked reduction of analysis times and a linearization of the transit times of the larger (434-587 bp) DNA fragments, in all polymers tested.

Acrylamides↗

Characterisation of wool intermediate filament proteins separated by micropreparative two-dimensional electrophoresis.

Wool intermediate filament proteins (IFP) are a subclass of the cytokeratins, a group of structural proteins which form intermediate filaments in many cell types. Post-translational modifications, such as phosphorylation, play an important role in the control of intermediate filament assembly. Two-dimensional electrophoresis has previously been used to study the IFP distribution in wools with different physical characteristics. Charge heterogeneity has been observed in Type I and Type II IFP. In a previous study, two-dimensional electrophoresis of alkaline phosphatase-treated wool protein extracts was used to show that Type II IFP are phosphorylated. To facilitate post-separation analysis, micropreparative two-dimensional electrophoresis was used to separate milligram quantities of wool protein. Direct phosphoamino acid analysis has confirmed the presence of phosphorylation on serine residues on Type II IFP, whose identity was confirmed by amino acid compositional analysis. The isoelectric points of Type I IFP are very similar and they do not separate completely on the commercially available pH 4-7 immobilized pH gradients (IPG) used in this study. In situ tryptic digestion followed by automated Edman sequencing of the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-separated peptides was used to confirm the identity of this group as Type I IFP. To improve the separation of the Type I IFP it will be necessary to use narrow range IPGs such as Immobiline DryPlates which are available from Pharmacia Biotech, in the pH ranges 4.2-4.9, 4.5-5.4, 5.0-6.0 and 5.6-6.6.

Animals↗

Enantiomer separation of disopyramide with capillary electrophoresis using various cyclodextrins.

Enantiomers of disopyramide display different biological actions, and therefore chiral selective analysis is necessary. Fifteen different cyclodextrins (CDs) and CD derivatives were tested as capillary electrophoresis (CE) additives for the chiral separation of disopyramide. Eleven types of CDs showed chiral recognition features and four types had a baseline or close to baseline separation. The best resolution (Rs = 3.0) was with 15 mM carboxymethylated beta-CD (pH 4.9). A sharp decrease in the selectivity of gamma-phosphate (gamma-PhoCD) was observed in the pH range of 2-3, indicating a structural change of gamma-PhoCD. The enantiomers of disopyramide were separated in its ionized as well as neutral forms using acidic substituted CDs. The results show that the size of the CD cavity can not be used as a guide to estimate chiral separations, suggesting a more complex separation mechanism of these CDs towards disopyramide.

Cyclodextrins↗

The combined effect of acetonitrile and urea on the separation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate in electrokinetic chromatography.

Sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate (DOSS) or sodium di-2-ethylhexyl sulfosuccinate, a relatively nontoxic and negatively charged surfactant, was selected and optimized for the capillary electrophoretic separation of the 16 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). This pseudostationary phase displayed selectivities for PAHs which were somewhat similar to the C18 phase in reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). At high DOSS concentrations (> 30 mM), the hydrophobic interaction between DOSS and PAHs was pronounced and led to stronger retention of the latter. Consequently, acetonitrile was added to the running buffer to facilitate the elution of hydrophobic PAHs. In the absence of micelles, the separation mechanism was attributed to the solvophobic association of the PAH molecules with hydrophobic chains of the DOSS surfactant and there was a linear correlation between log k (retention factor) and the double bond number of the PAH. However, separations performed in an optimized buffer containing both DOSS and acetonitrile were not able to provide satisfactory performance. The separation of the 16 PAHs was then appreciably improved by adding urea to the running buffer to widen the separation window. At a high sample loading with UV detection, except for benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[b]fluoranthene and benzo[k]fluoranthene, all other PAHs were practically baseline-resolved using an optimized running buffer containing 50 mM DOSS, 35% acetonitrile and 5 M urea in 8-10 mM borate, pH 9. Laser-induced fluorescence permitted a very low sample loading and under such a running condition, a baseline resolution was obtained for these three most difficult PAHs. The addition of urea at this level, however, exhibited a noticeable quenching effect on the PAH fluorescent signal.

Acetonitriles↗

Development of separation systems for polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon environmental contaminants using micellar electrokinetic chromatography with molecular micelles and free zone electrophoresis.

Of four systems available from the literature, based on cyclodextrins, dioctylsulfosuccinate, bile salts, and molecular micelles consisting of oligomers of undecylenic acid, the most successful separation system in our hands is based on the molecular micelles, oligomers of sodium undecylenic acid (OSUA). We have employed organic additives of acetonitrile, acetone, and tetrahydrofuran in achieving separations of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PNAs) using molecular micelles. Generally, successful separations are achieved with 20-40% composition as the organic additive in an 8 mM borate buffer. We separated 16 PNAs with 20% tetrahydrofuran in a system of 8 mM borate and 0.125 g/10 mL (ca. 6.25 mM) of OSUA. Typical extracts of environmental samples contain additional analytes besides the typical 16 target compounds. Among these are the nitrogen-containing aromatics that can act as cations under conditions of low pH and additional compounds that can act as anions under basic conditions in free-zone electrophoresis. These additional classes of analytes are separated by capillary zone electrophoresis/laser-induced fluorescence detection using a frequency-doubled laser operated at 257 nm.

Chromatography, Micellar Electrokinetic Capillary↗

Separation of disaccharides by affinity capillary electrophoresis in lectin-containing electrophoretic solutions.

Separation of the 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone (PMP) derivatives of simple disaccharides (maltose, cellobiose, gentiobiose, lactose, and melibiose) by affinity capillary electrophoresis was investigated using lectin-containing neutral phosphate buffers, filled in a linear polyacrylamide-coated capillary. When Lens culinaris agglutinin (LCA) was added, the derivatives of glucobioses were retarded with varying magnitudes depending on the amount of LCA and were well separated from each other and from galactosyl glucose under optimized conditions. Addition of Ricinus communis 60 kDa agglutinin (RCA60) to the phosphate buffer gave a different migration profile, in which the derivatives of galactosyl glucoses were more retarded than those of glucobioses. However, addition of either lectin did not accomplish complete separation of the derivatives of all these disaccharides even under optimum conditions. The addition of two kinds of lectins in appropriate proportions improved separation. Thus, the binary system composed of LCA and RCA60, as well as LCA and soybean agglutinin from Glycine max (SBA), gave better separation of these derivatives, giving peak tops for all derivatives.

Antipyrine↗

Recent progress in enantiomeric separation by capillary electrochromatography.

Recent progress in enantiomeric separations by capillary electrochromatography (CEC) is reviewed. The development of simple and robust CEC column technologies plays an important role for popularization of CEC. During the last several years, various approaches for the preparation of enantioselective columns have been reported. Currently, the monolithic column technology (continuous beds) represents the most advanced approach for the preparation of CEC columns. The development of new chiral stationary phase used for CEC is another important issue in this field. Fundamental investigations on electrochromatographic behaviors of various CSPs are necessary in order to understand the separation mechanism and thus improve the separation performance. Some chiral stationary phases performed better under nonaqueous CEC conditions than reversed-phase conditions. Coupling CEC with mass spectrometry (MS) provides a powerful tool for enantiomeric separation. Finally, some applications of enantiomeric separation by CEC are summarized.

Chromatography↗

Size-exclusion capillary electrochromatographic separation of polysaccharides using polymeric stationary phases.

We report the successful size-based separations of large, neutral polysaccharides using capillary electrochromatography (CEC). As the polysaccharides possessed little chromophore for photometric detection, two separate approaches were taken. In the first approach, indirect detection was combined with size-exclusion chromatography using a sulfonated polystyrene/divinylbenzene stationary phase. The separations were performed using a 300 A pore size stationary phase under aqueous conditions. Non-size based interactions were minimal using this material, resulting in an effective calibration range of molecular masses 180 to 112 000 g.mol(-1) for pullulans. In the second approach, the polysaccharides were derivatized with phenylisocyanate and were subsequently separated on columns made using a combination of high capacity ion-exchanger and a neutral polystyrene/divinylbenzene material of various pore sizes. The sulfonated ion-exchange phase provided the electroosmotic flow, while the mixed pore size material provided the extended calibration range. The linear range for this primarily nonaqueous system using tetrahydrofuran was determined to be from molecular masses 738 to 404 000 g.mol(-1) of the original, untagged pullulan. This approach overcame the limited solubility issue associated with analysis of some polysaccharides. Analysis of pullulan and amylose samples by CEC correlated well with results obtained by conventional high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The size-exclusion electrochromatographic separations provide an alternative mode for determining the relative molecular weights of polysaccharides with reduced sample and solvent consumption, as well as analysis times.

Amylose↗

Fast enantiomeric separation with vancomycin as chiral additive by co-electroosmotic flow capillary electrophoresis: increase of the detection sensitivity by the partial filling technique.

A fast and sensitive method is described by using vancomycin as a chiral additive for enantiomeric separation by capillary electrophoresis (CE). In order to overcome disadvantages associated with use of vancomycin as chiral additive in CE, several strategies including the dynamic coating technique, the co-electroosmotic flow technique, and the partial filling technique were employed sequentially in this method. Using the polycationic polymer hexadimethrine bromide (HDB) as a buffer additive, the capillary wall was dynamically coated with a thin film formed by the adsorbed HDB. Consequently, the adsorption of vancomycin onto the capillary wall was minimized via electrostatic repulsion between the coating of the capillary wall and the vancomycin molecule. In addition, the reversed electroosmotic flow (from cathode to anode) produced by the positively charged capillary wall migrates in the same direction of negatively charged analytes (co-electroosmotic flow electrophoresis). Thereby the electrophoretic mobility of negatively charged analytes were drastically accelerated leading to a short separation time of less than 3.4 min. The separation time was further reduced by the use of a short-end-injection technique. For example, the analysis time was achieved by as short as 55 s for a baseline separation of dansyl-alpha-amino-n-butyric acid. Concurrently, the partial filling technique was used to avoid the loss of detection sensitivity caused by the presence of vancomycin in the running buffer. The effect of several parameters, such as HDB concentration, buffer pH, plug length of the chiral selector, concentration of the chiral selector and applied voltage, on enantioselectivity were investigated toward optimization. Besides the advantage of a very short separation time, the method is characterized by high detection sensitivity, high selectivity, and high efficiency.

Amino Acids↗

A simple polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis procedure for separation of polyamidoamine dendrimers.

A simple, inexpensive, and rapid electrophoresis technique was developed for use as a routine tool for evaluating purity of polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers. A variety of factors influencing migration of generations 0-7 dendrimers on nongradient polyacrylamide gels were evaluated. The low generation dendrimers were found to be very sensitive to diffusion during or after electrophoresis. The proposed method incorporates steps that minimize diffusion, in order to obtain improved resolution and sensitivity, especially for the lower-molecular-weight dendrimers. This was accomplished by inclusion of a dendrimer fixation step with glutaraldehyde and performing the electrophoresis separation, fixation, staining, and destaining at 4 degrees C. PAMAM dendrimer separation was studied under basic and acidic conditions. Electrophoresis under acidic conditions gave increased resolution and sensitivity over separation at alkaline pH. Oligomers and trailing generations could be clearly separated and visualized under these conditions. The smallest PAMAM dendrimer, generation 0, was visible at 1.5 microg under the optimized acidic conditions. With slight modifications, this technique should be applicable to separation of other water-soluble dendrimers.

Biocompatible Materials↗

Microdevice for separation and quantitative fraction collection.

A new microfluidic concept for quantitative whole-column fraction collection of electrophoretically separated zones was developed. The prototype device, fabricated on a polycarbonate disk by injection molding, integrated electrophoretic separation channels with fraction collection reservoirs distributed along the separation channel. The microdevice was designed in a CD-like format to use the centrifugal force for moving the liquid in the microchannels. A serpentine shape of the separation channel was selected to create segments for quantitative whole-column fraction collection. The operation was tested with visual monitoring of isotachophoretic separation and collection of cationic dyes.

DNA↗

Optimisation of selectivity in the separation of aromatic amino acid enantiomers using sulfated beta-cyclodextrin and dextran sulfate as pseudostationary phases.

Control of selectivity in the enantiomeric separation of three aromatic amino acids (phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan) was demonstrated utilising two separate electrolyte additives. Sulfated-beta-cyclodextrin (s-beta-CD) was chosen as the chiral selector while the addition of dextran sulfate provided a means with which to predictably fine-tune separation selectivity. The two additives were found to interact independently with the amino acids, with the s-CD providing chiral interactions while the dextran sulfate provided ion-exchange (IE) interactions. The system was also very robust with reproducibility of migration times being < 2.0% RSD between runs and < 2.6% on using a new capillary. A physical model derived from first principles was also successfully used to describe the two additive system. The model accurately described the observed separations over the range of 0-20 mM s-beta-CD and 0-1% dextran sulfate with a correlation coefficient of 0.998 between predicted and observed mobilities. The physical model also provided useful information about the system including association constants between the analytes and the pseudostationary phases, together with the mobilities of the associated complexes (analyte-cyclodextrin and analyte-dextran sulfate). Selectivity optimisation was achieved using the normalised resolution product and minimum resolution criteria. The physical model also allowed a desired separation selectivity to be obtained, such that experimental conditions could be predicted to lead to a particular migration order.

Amino Acids, Aromatic↗

Application of capillary electrophoresis- electrospray-mass spectrometry to the separation and characterization of isomeric lipopolysaccharides of Neisseria meningitidis.

A capillary electrophoresis-electrospray-mass spectrometry technique for the characterization of lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) was developed, permitting the separation of trace-level O-deacylated LPS isoforms for subsequent structural characterization using tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The separation buffer and electrospray interface were optimized first using O-deacylated LPS samples from large-scale preparations. It was found that with microelectrospray or sheath-solution interface, we could separate LPS in anionic forms and detect them using either negative or positive ion mode MS. For negative ion detection mode MS, 30 mM morpholine with addition of 5% v/v methanol was employed as separation buffer. When positive ion detection mode MS was required, 10 mM ammonium acetate with addition of 5% methanol was used as separation buffer. The structural assignments obtained from MS/MS and capillary zone electrophoresis-electrospray-MS (CZE-ESMS) analyses enabled the identification of isomeric glycoforms. Application of this technique to the analysis of LPS from the galE mutants of Neisseria meningitidis strain BZ157 B5+ revealed the presence of isomeric glycoforms, in which the location of a functional group phosphoethanolamine was found to be in either inner core or lipid A-OH regions. The described technique was also applied to the analysis of LPS samples from the galE mutant of N. meningitidis strains F1576 A4+ and A4-. The occurrence of isomeric LPS glycoforms differing by the location or presence of neutral sugar residues, such as hexoses, can also be characterized using MS/MS.

Acetylation↗

Separation of selected humic degradation compounds by capillary electrochromatography with monolithic and packed columns.

The separation of selected lignin/humic substance (HS) degradation compounds by capillary electrochromatography (CEC) with a methacrylate-based monolithic column and a conventional column packed with 5 microm octadecyl silica (ODS) particles is presented. The effects of organic modifier concentration, pH of the mobile phase, ionic strength, applied voltage, and temperature on the separation were investigated to determine the optimal separation conditions. With the increase of pH in the mobile phase, some of analytes start to ionize and both chromatographic partition and electrophoresis can play roles in separation simultaneously. Accordingly, different selectivity from high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and capillary electrophoresis (CE) could be achieved. The performances of both kinds of columns were compared. The results showed that the peaks of compounds obtained on the former column were much wider than those on the latter one, although good separation efficiency of alkylbenzenes could be readily achieved; the most probable reasons for this behavior and method to solve this problem were briefly discussed. The CEC of a soil fulvic acid with a monolithic column produced partly resolved broad bands; by means of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis a wide range of oxygen derived aromatic substitution patterns was found with prominent contributions from phenolic and carboxylic groups.

Benzopyrans↗

Comprehensive two-dimensional separations based on capillary high-performance liquid chromatography and microchip electrophoresis.

A novel comprehensive two-dimensional (2-D) separation system coupling capillary high-performance liquid chromatography (cHPLC) with microchip electrophoresis (chip CE) is demonstrated. Reversed-phase cHPLC was used as the first dimension, and chip CE acted as the second dimension to perform fast sample transfers and separations. A valve-free gating interface was devised simply by inserting the outlet-end of LC column into the cross-channel on a specially designed chip. A home-made confocal laser-induced fluorescence detector was used to perform on-chip high-sensitive detection. The cHPLC effluents were continuously delivered to the chip and pinched injections of the effluents every 20 seconds were employed for chip CE separation. Gradient elution of cHPLC was carried out to obtain the high-efficiency separation. Free-zone electrophoresis was performed with triethylamine buffer to achieve high-speed separation and prevent sample adsorption. Such a simple-made comprehensive system was proved to be effective. The relative standard deviations for migration time and peak height of rhodamine B in 150 sample transfers were 3.2% and 9.8%, respectively. Peptides of the fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled tryptic digests of bovine serum albumin were fairly resolved and detected with this comprehensive 2-D system.

Animals↗