Non-radioactive determination of PTH and dabsyl phosphoamino acids by capillary electrophoresis

Summary Capillary electrophoresis is a novel technique in the non-radioactive determination of phosphoamino acids. The main advantage of the method presented is the high selectivity and the ability to separate all phosphoamino acid derivatives. Non-radioactive determination of PTH or dabsyl phosphoamino acids by capillary electrophoresis provides a fast and simple screening procedure for all O-phosphorylated amino acids in protein and peptides in the low picomolar range.     

Synthesis of protected derivatives of O-phosphotyrosine incorporation in a heptapeptide

The solid phase synthesis of the phosphopeptide Leu-Arg-Arg-Ala-Tyr(P)-Leu-Gly is reported via the stepwise incorporation of the protected phosphoamino acid Nα -tert-butyloxycarbonyl-O-dimethyl-phosphono-L-tyrosine.     

Indirect photomeric detection of anions in capillary electrophoresis using dyes as probes and electrolytes buffered with an isoelectric ampholyte

The use of highly absorbing anionic dyes as probes and isoelectric ampholytes as buffers in background electrolytes (BGEs) combined with the use of a light emitting diode (LED) as a light source has been studied for ultrasensitive indirect photometric detection in capillary electrophoresis (CE). Potential dyes and buffers were evaluated based on characteristics relevant to indirect photometric detection principles, such as the electrophoretic mobility of the probe dye, its solubility and adsorption behaviour, and the isoelectric point and buffering capacity of the ampholytic buffer. Two dyes, tartrazine and naphthol yellow S, and histidine as the ampholytic buffer, were selected for detailed investigation. Purification of the probes was vital to avoid anionic impurities interfering with the detection. For the electrolytes containing a purified probe (0.5 mM) and histidine as the isoelectric buffer (p/ 7.7), hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (approximately 0.05%) was effective in suppression of the electroosmotic flow (EOF). Analytical method performance characteristics were determined. For both probes, experimentally determined mobilities were generally close to literature values, excellent peak shapes and separation efficiencies of up to 298 000 theoretical plates were obtained, and detection limits were generally at the sub-microM level. For the naphthol yellow S-histidine BGE, linearity and reproducibility were also evaluated, with excellent linearity being observed over a range of 5-500 microM, and reproducibility (relative standard deviation, RSD) less than 1% for migration times and 2-8% for normalised peak areas. The approach developed was applied successfully to several real samples including tap water, mineral waters, and beer.     

Low-Field NMR Relaxation Analysis of High-Pressure Ethane Adsorption in Mesoporous Silicas

Understanding the behaviour of short-chain hydrocarbons confined to porous solids informs the targeted extraction of natural resources from geological features, and underpins rational developments in separation, storage and catalytic conversion processes. Herein, we report the application of low-field (12.7 MHz) ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation measurements to characterise ethane dynamics within mesoporous silica materials exhibiting mean pore diameters between 6 and 50 nm. Our measurements provide NMR-based adsorption isotherms within the range 25–50 bar and at ambient temperature, incorporating the ethane condensation point (40.7 bar at our experimental temperature of 23.6 °C). The quantitative nature of the acquired data is validated via a direct comparison of NMR-derived excess adsorption capacities with ex situ gravimetric ethane adsorption measurements, which are demonstrated to agree to within 0.2 mmol g⁻¹ of the observed ethane capacity. NMR relaxation time distributions are further demonstrated as a means to decouple interparticle and mesopore dominated adsorption phenomena, with unexpectedly rapid relaxation rates associated with interparticle ethane gas confirmed via a direct comparison with NMR self-diffusion analysis.