Two-dimensional separation system of coupling capillary liquid chromatography to capillary electrophoresis for analysis of Escherichia coli metabolites

A two-dimensional (2-D) separation system of coupling chromatography to electrophoresis was developed for profiling Escherichia coli metabolites. Capillary liquid chromatography (LC) with a monolithic silica-octadecyl silica column (500 x 0.2 mm ID) was used as the first dimension, from which the effluent fractions were further analyzed by capillary electrophoresis (CE) acting as the second dimension. Field-enhanced stacking was selectively employed as a concentration strategy to interface the two dimensions, which proved to be beneficial for the detection of metabolites. An artificial sample containing 118 standards, some of which lack chromophores or have weak UV absorbance, was used to optimize the 2-D separation system. Under the optimum conditions, 63 components in the artificial sample having absorbance at 254 nm could be well resolved and detected. The utility of the system was demonstrated by comprehensive analysis of E. coli metabolites. Comparing with the previous 2-D separation system we published in Anal. Chem. 2004, 76, 1419-1428, using a longer monolithic column in the first dimension improved the separation efficiency and offered the possibility of increasing the injection volume without compromising the separation efficiency. In the second dimension, field-enhanced stacking was used to improve the concentration sensitivity of the metabolites, and more metabolites in E. coli cell extract were detected and identified using the developed 2-D separation system. In addition, preliminary investigation for future CE-mass spectrometry coupling was also made in the study by using volatile buffers in the capillary LC and CE techniques.     

Comprehensive two-dimensional chromatography and capillary electrophoresis coupled with tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometry for high-speed proteome analysis

A comprehensive two-dimensional capillary liquid chromatography and capillary zone electrophoresis system coupled with tandem matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-TOF-MS) proteomics analyzer is presented. Protein/peptide samples were separated by capillary high-performance liquid chromatography (cHPLC). The effluents from cHPLC (the first dimension) were continuously transferred into capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE, the second dimension) through a novel valve-free hydrodynamic sampling interface. The CZE effluents were mixed with alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (CHCA) matrix sheath flow via CE-MALDI interface, and then directly deposited on the MALDI target at a 3 s time-interval for further MS analysis. The high efficiency of the overall system was demonstrated by analysis of proteins in D20 (human hepatocellular carcinoma model in nude mice with high metastatic potential) liver cancer tissue. More than 300 proteins were identified, which proved the system potential for high-throughput analysis and application in proteomics.     

Comprehensive two-dimensional separation system by coupling capillary reverse-phase liquid chromatography to capillary isoelectric focusing for peptide and protein mapping with laser-induced fluorescence detection

A comprehensive two-dimensional (2-D) separation system, coupling capillary reverse-phase liquid chromatography (cRPLC) to capillary isoelectric focusing (CIEF), is described for protein and peptide mapping. cRPLC, the first dimension, provided high-resolution separations for salt-free proteins. CIEF, the second dimension with an orthogonal mechanism to cRPLC afforded excellent resolution capability for proteins with efficient protein enrichment. Since all sample fractions in cRPLC effluents could be transferred to the CIEF dimensions, the combination of the two high-efficiency separations resulted in maximal separation capabilities of each dimension. Separation effectiveness of this approach was demonstrated using complex protein/peptide samples, such as yeast cytosol and a BSA tryptic digest. A peak capacity of more than 10 000 had been achieved. A laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detector, developed for this system, allowed for high-sensitive detection, with a fmol level of peptide detection for the BSA digest. FITC and BODIPY maleimide were used to tag the proteins, and the latter was found better both for separation and detection in our 2-D system.     

小型可连续进样微流控芯片分析仪的研制

报道了一种结构简单、可连续进样的小型微流控芯片分析仪的研制。顺序注射分析系统通过芯片上制作的接口将试样连续引入芯片 ,并采用自行设计的紧凑型光纤式激光诱导荧光检测器进行检测。该仪器用于芯片毛细管电泳分离实验室合成Cy5荧光染料 ,实现了连续进样和换样。峰高RSD为 1 .9% (n=1 1 ) ,试样通量 3 5 h ;相邻试样携出 <4%。     

Separation of Compounds in Traditional Chinese Medicines Using Comprehensive Two Dimensional Chromatography

Traditional Chinese medicine is an invaluable treasure of the Chinese nationalities. Thousands of natural species that are of pharmaceutical importance have been accumulated. Most of them are plants. Traditional Chinese medicines generally are of unusual complexity. Even a single medicinal material may contain hundreds of compounds. Since these compounds play cooperative roles pharmacologically, it is essential to analyze all compounds as a whole. It is also important for quality controls in each step of productions, such as raw material collection, processing, and manufacturing. A comprehensive two-dimensional separation system coupling capillary high performance liquid chromatography with fast capillary electrophoresis (μ-HPLC-CE) is developed to provide a powerful means to separate such complex samples. In the first dimensional separation, a home-packed micro-HPLC column was used to reduce the consultation of sample injection and avoid sample dilution. The second dimensional analysis was carried out by micellar electrokinetic chromatography(MEKC) considering the fact that most compounds in Chinese medicine are neutrals. In order to achieve high-speed separation^ theory of fast MEKC was extensively studied. Models of the fast MEKC migration behaviors were established. Relationships of theoretical plates vs. electric field strength and column length were derived. It is concluded that maintaining certain column length and applying high-voltage at the ends of the capillary simultaneously are the key points to achieving fast MEKC separation. A pulse-contacting interface was developed for the 2-D μ-HPLC-CE system. CE sampling was carried out in an instant contact of HPLC and CE columns in an optimized timing program. During the short contact period, a certain fraction of HPLC effluent was introduced into the CE capillary. Injection efficiency for such an interface was up to 81%. Relative standard deviation (RSD) of migration times and peak heights for 100 consecutive MEKC. separation were 3.0% and 1.8%, respectively. With this novel 2-D μ-HPLC-CE system, some traditional Chinese medicines were analyzed and hundreds of peaks were observed. For liquorice, over 110 components were fairly resolved. More than 250 peaks were obtained for a compound mixture of Cheng-Qi-Tang. The peak capacity of this novel comprehensive 2-D HPLC-CE system was estimated to be about 2400 in 80 min.     

Study on the influence of cross-sectional area and zeta potential on separation for hybrid-chip-based capillary electrophoresis using 3-D simulations

Hybrid chips combing microchips with capillaries have displayed particular advantages in achieving UV-vis and mass spectroscopic detection. In this work, systematic 3-D numerical simulations have been carried out to explore the influence of junction interface cross-sectional area and ζ-potential distribution on sample band broadening in hybrid-chip electrophoresis separation. In this case, the ratio of cross-sectional area of chip to capillary channel (S(ratio) ) is used as the parameter of the variation in junction interface cross-sectional area. Theoretical simulations demonstrated that the decrease of the S(ratio) would increase the separation efficiency in the hybrid-chip-based CE with uniform ζ-potential distribution. ζ-potential distribution along the axial direction of the channel also affects mass transport in hybrid-chip-based CE. Therefore, the effect of ζ-potential distribution has been considered in the 3-D simulation. Theoretical simulation results reveal that ζ-potential distribution rather than the interface cross-sectional area variation (S(ratio) ) controls the sample band broadening and manipulates sample separation efficiency in the hybrid-chip-based CE with non-uniform ζ-potential distribution. Both the theoretical simulations and experimental results show that optimal hybrid-chip CE separation efficiency can be achieved at S(ratio) =1.     

Capillary electrophoresis system with flow injection sample introduction and chemiluminescence detection on a chip platform

A capillary electrophoresis (CE) system with chemiluminescence (CL) detection was combined with flow injection (FI) sample introduction on a chip platform. A falling-drop interface was applied to perform FI split-flow sample introduction while achieving electrical isolation from the CE high voltage. A tubular reservoir at the capillary outlet served as both the CL reaction and detection cell for the luminol-peroxide-metallic ion chemiluminescent reaction, with the luminol included in the separation buffer and CL reagent H2O2 continuously introduced into the outlet reservoir. An optical fiber was positioned within the outlet reservoir directly opposite, and 300 microns away from, the capillary outlet for collecting and transferring the generated CL to the PMT. The peak height signals and the separation efficiency were almost independent of the reagent flow-rate, making the system a robust one. The performance of the system was illustrated by the separation of Co(II) and Cu(II), achieving baseline separation in 60 s. Detection limits (3 sigma) were 1.25 x 10(-8) and 2.3 x 10(-6) mol dm-3 for Co(II) and Cu(II), respectively. Peak height precision was 1.9% RSD (n = 9) at the 10(-7) mol dm-3 Co level.     

21世纪毛细管电泳技术及应用发展趋势

在21世纪，毛细管电泳技术面临着新的挑战和机遇，在其检测手段，仪器的小型化和集成化，以及分离模式上都存在着极大的发展空间，文中针对这三方面的发展趋势和毛细管电泳的应用进行了讨论。     

Stroboscopic sampling in comprehensive high-performance liquid chromatography-capillary electrophoresis via a pneumatic sampler

A new approach is presented to solve the problem of a long separation time in the second dimension of comprehensive two-dimensional chromatography. The need for a rapid separation in the second column is overcome by repeating analysis of a sample many times. In each of these individual analysis cases the sample is injected into the first dimension column and after a delay a low amount of the effluent at the end of the first column is sampled to the second-dimensional column. The time interval between the samplings from the first column to the second column is constantly increased. Thus, the system enables a comprehensive analysis of the effluent emerging from the first into the second column. This approach, which we call stroboscopic sampling, is tested for coupling high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to capillary electrophoresis (CE) by an interface which operates on the principle of transporting the effluent from the HPLC column to the capillary inlet by small pressure pulses (0.5 MPa). The performance of the interface for accomplishing the comprehensive HPLC-CE analysis was demonstrated for an on-line connection of a short ion-exchange column and an ion-exclusion column to the CE capillary.     

Fabrication of a monolithic sampling probe system for automated and continuous sample introduction in microchip-based CE

A fabrication process for producing monolithic sampling probes on glass chips, with tip diameters of a few hundred micrometers was developed, using simple tools including a glass cutter and a bench drill. Microfluidic chips with probes fabricated by this approach were coupled to a linearly moving slotted-vial array sample presentation system for performing continuous sample introduction in the chip-based CE system. On-chip horizontal tubular reservoirs containing working electrolyte and waste were used to maintain a stable hydrostatic pressure in the chip channels during prolonged working periods. The performance of the system was demonstrated in the separation of FITC-labeled amino acids with LIF detection, by continuously introducing a train of different samples without interruption. Throughputs of 30-60/h were achieved with <1.0% carry-over and reproducibilities in peak height of 3.6, 3.3, and 3.5% RSD for arginine, FITC, and phenylalanine, respectively (n = 11). Continuous analysis of a mixture of FITC-labeled amino acids for 2 h, involving 60 analytical cycles, yielded an RSD of 7.5 and 6.8% for arginine and FITC (n = 60), respectively. An extremely low sample consumption of 30 nL for each analysis was obtained. Separation efficiencies in plate numbers were in the range of 0.8-2x10(5)/m. In addition to the application in sample introduction, the sample/reagent introduction system was also used to produce working electrolyte gradients during a CE separation to improve the separation efficiency. Comparing with isocratic electrophoresis separation, gradient CE demonstrated better separation efficiencies for a mixture of FITC-labeled amino acids.     

Combination of flow injection with capillary electrophoresis: 8. Miniaturized capillary electrophoresis system with flow injection sample introduction and electrogenerated chemiluminescence detection

The combined flow injection (FI)-capillary electrophoresis (CE) system was further exploited by coupling to an electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) detection system. A low-cost miniaturized CE system was developed on a chip platform to provide easy interface both with FI sample introduction and with ECL detection. A falling-drop interface was employed to perform FI split-flow sample introduction while achieving electrical isolation from the CE high voltage. A plexiglas reservoir at the capillary outlet served as both the reaction and detection cell for the ECL reaction, with Ru(bpy)₃²⁺ reagent continuously flowing through the cell. An optical fiber was positioned within the reservoir close to the capillary outlet for transferring the ECL emission to the PMT. The relative positions of the capillary outlet, working electrode and optical fiber as well as reagent renewal flow-rate were optimized to achieve both good sensitivity and separation efficiency under non-interrupted sampling conditions, involving large numbers of samples. An on-column joint often used in other works for isolating the ECL detection system from the CE separation voltage was not found necessary. The performance of the system was illustrated by the baseline separation of proline, valine and phenylalanine with a high throughput of 50 h⁻¹ and plate height of 14 μm for proline under 147 V cm⁻¹ field strength. Detection limits (3σ) were 1.2, 50 and 25 μM and peak height precisions were 1.4, 5.4 and 4.3% R.S.D. (n=9) for proline, valine and phenylalanine, respectively.     

Design and simulation of sample pinching utilizing microelectrodes in capillary electrophoresis microchips

The paper proposed novel designs to pinch the transverse diffusion of the sample in the injection mode using microelectrodes to generate the potential difference at the channel intersection in the capillary electrophoresis (CE) microchip. A pair of microelectrodes was used to conduct the injection channel and the separation channel, which directly provided the potential to pinch the sample without using a power supply. These new designs of the CE microchip simplify the electric circuitry and improve performance. Simulations were performed using the CFD-ACE[trade mark sign] software. The mechanisms of diffusion and electrophoresis were employed in the numerical simulation. The injection and separation processes of the sample were simulated and the parameters of the present design were investigated numerically.     

Isotachophoresis of beta-blockers in a capillary and on a poly(methyl methacrylate) chip

Analysis of the beta-blockers oxprenolol, atenolol, timolol, propranolol, metoprolol, and acebutolol in human urine by a combination of isotachophoresis (ITP) and zone electrophoresis (ZE) was investigated. Methods were developed with a conventional capillary electrophoresis (CE) apparatus and a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microchip system. With CE the separation of oxprenolol, atenolol, timolol, and acebutolol from a standard solution containing 5 microg/mL of each compound was accomplished by performing ZE with transient ITP. The electrolyte system consisted of 10 mM sodium morpholinoethane sulfonate (pH 5.5) and 0.1% methylhydroxyethylcellulose as the leading electrolyte and 30 mM ortho-phosphoric acid (pH 2.0) as both the terminating and the ZE background electrolyte. With the microchip system the separation of oxprenolol and acebutolol from a standard solution containing 10 microg/mL of each compound was accomplished by a coupled-channel ITP-ZE device using the same leading electrolyte solution as the CE system but 5 mM glutamic acid (pH 3.4) as terminating and background electrolytes. The systems were used for analyses of patient urine samples. Water-soluble hydrophilic matrix compounds were removed from the urine samples by solid-phase extraction (SPE). Limits of quantification below 5 microg/mL could be achieved. The PMMA ITP-ZE chip has not earlier been used for analyses of any drugs from urine samples.     

Parallel separation of multiple samples with negative pressure sample injection on a 3-D microfluidic array chip

A simple and powerful microfluidic array chip-based electrophoresis system, which is composed of a 3-D microfluidic array chip, a microvacuum pump-based negative pressure sampling device, a high-voltage supply and an LIF detector, was developed. The 3-D microfluidic array chip was fabricated with three glass plates, in which a common sample waste bus (SW(bus)) was etched in the bottom layer plate to avoid intersecting with the separation channel array. The negative pressure sampling device consists of a microvacuum air pump, a buffer vessel, a 3-way electromagnet valve, and a vacuum gauge. In the sample loading step, all the six samples and buffer solutions were drawn from their reservoirs across the injection intersections through the SW(bus) toward the common sample waste reservoir (SW(T)) by negative pressure. Only 0.5 s was required to obtain six pinched sample plugs at the channel crossings. By switching the three-way electromagnetic valve to release the vacuum in the reservoir SW(T), six sample plugs were simultaneously injected into the separation channels by EOF and electrophoretic separation was activated. Parallel separations of different analytes are presented on the 3-D array chip by using the newly developed sampling device.     

Chip-based capillary electrophoresis with an electrodeless nanospray interface

A sheathless and electrodeless nanospray interface has been used to interface a polycarbonate capillary electrophoresis (CE) chip to a mass spectrometer (MS). The chip was made of two flat polycarbonate plates which were bolted together. Channels were imprinted in one of the plates with metal wires, using a hydraulic press. A short tapered capillary connected to the chip was used as the nanospray emitter. The advantage of this electrodeless interface is that it was not necessary to apply a electrospray voltage to the chip or the nanospray emitter. Instead, the CE voltage already applied to the buffer compartment on the chip, to drive the electrophoresis, was used to generate the spray also. A low conductivity buffer of 1.25 mmol/L ammonium acetate in 80% methanol was used to obtain a large electric field across the buffer channel. The performance of the device was evaluated by analyzing a mixture of three beta-agonists Relative standard deviation (RSD) values obtained were between 4.8 and 5.0%. A sample concentration of 40 nmol/L resulted in a signal-to-noise ratio of 2 to 5 for the different components. Compared to a conventional CE analysis in a fused silica capillary with UV detection, only a minor loss of resolution was observed, which can be attributed to the design of the chip.     

A chip-based capillary electrophoresis-contactless conductivity microsystem for fast measurements of low-explosive ionic components

A miniaturized analytical system for separating and detecting inorganic explosive residues, based on the coupling of a micromachined capillary electrophoresis (CE) chip with a contactless conductivity detector is described. The low electroosmotic flow (EOF) of the poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) chip material facilitates the rapid switching between analyses of cations and anions using the same microchannel and run buffer (and without an EOF modifier), and hence offers rapid (< 1 min) measurement of seven explosive-related cations and anions. Experimental parameters relevant to the separation and detection processes have been optimized. Addition of a 18-crown-6 ether modifier has been used for separating the peaks of co-migrating potassium and ammonium ions. The ionic-explosive microchip system combines the distinct advantages of contactless conductivity detection with the attractive features of plastic CE microchips. The new microsystem offers great promise for monitoring explosive-related ions at the sample source, with significant advantages of speed/warning, efficiency, cost, or sample size.     

在线富集二维毛细管电泳分析新体系检测尿样中药物及对映体

将在线富集技术同二维(2D)毛细管电泳(CE)分离相结合同时提高复杂样品中痕量组分的分离度和检测灵敏度.毛细管区带电泳(CZE)作为第一维,分析物根据淌度不同进行分离,第一维流出组分进入第二维毛细管,根据分配系数不同进行胶束电动毛细管色谱(MEKC)分离.采用阳离子选择性耗尽进样(CSEI)在柱预富集,延长进样时间,增大进样量;同时在二维毛细管接口处采用动态pH联接/胶束扫集在线富集技术不仅避免第一维分离组分在接口处扩散,还可进一步压缩样品区带.同常规电动进样CE分离相比,该在线富集二维分离技术的分离能力远远高于一维CZE或MEKC分离,富集倍数达到(0.5～1.2)×104.该法成功应用于人体尿样中四种药物及对映体的分析测定,浓度检出限为0.1～0.3μg/L.进一步研究了人体尿样中四种药物24h内的药代动力学规律.     

Staggered multistep elution solid-phase extraction capillary electrophoresis/tandem mass spectrometry: a high-throughput approach in protein analysis

An approach based on staggered multistep elution solid-phase extraction (SPE) capillary electrophoresis/tandem mass spectrometry (CE/MS/MS) was developed in the analysis of digested protein mixtures. On-line coupling of SPE with CE/MS was achieved using a two-leveled two-cross polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based interface. Multistep elution SPE was used prior to CE to provide an additional dimension of separation, thus extending the separation capacity for the peptide mixture analysis. By decreasing in the number of co-eluting peptides, problems stemming from ionization suppression and finite MS/MS duty cycle were reduced. As a result, sequence coverage increased significantly using multistep elution SPE-CE/MS/MS compared to one-step elution SPE-CE/MS/MS in the analysis of a single protein tryptic digest (49% vs. 18%) and a six protein tryptic digest (22-71% vs. 10-44%). A staggered CE method was incorporated to increase the throughput. The electropherograms of consecutive CE runs were partially overlapped by injecting the sample plug at a fixed time interval. With the use of a 5 min injection interval, slightly poor results were obtained in comparison with the sequential CE method while the total analysis time was reduced to 28%.     

The multi-concentration and two-dimensional capillary electrophoresis method for the analysis of drugs in urine samples

A novel method has been developed by integration of multi-concentration and two-dimensional(2D) capillary electrophoresis(CE) for simultaneous enhancement of detection sensitivity and separation power in complex samples.Capillary zone electrophoresis(CZE) was used as the first dimension separation according to mobilities,from which the effluent fractions were further analyzed by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography(MEKC) acting as the second dimension.Cation-selective exhaustive injection(CSEI) ...     

凝胶过滤/离子交换全二维液相色谱系统的构建与评价

基于蛋白质的尺寸及带电性质,将凝胶过滤色谱(GFC)与离子交换色谱(IEC)两种分离模式结合,采用双捕集柱接口构建了GFC/2×IEC二维液相色谱(2-D LC)分离系统,同时考虑离子交换色谱分离蛋白质对等电点范围的限制,进一步结合中心切割平行柱的方法实现对蛋白质的全二维分离。为与后续蛋白质在线酶解、多肽分离及质谱鉴定匹配,系统中采用常规柱以保证蛋白质质谱鉴定对样品量的要求,3种常规分离柱分别选用凝胶过滤色谱柱TSK-GEL G3000SW_(XL)(300 mm×7.8 mm,5μm)、强阴离子交换色谱柱Hypersil SAX(100 mm×4.6 mm,10μm)和强阳离子交换色谱柱Hypersil SCX(100 mm×4.6 mm,10μm)。最终以酵母细胞蛋白质提取液为样品,对构建的二维系统加以评价,在总蛋白质浓度13.5 mg/mL、上样体积100μL的条件下,将第一维分离等时间切割17次,并将切割馏分全部导入第二维继续分离,二维系统在148 min内获得的总峰容量达到884。说明所构建的系统可以用于蛋白质的在线全二维分离。