Analytical applications of reactors containing immobilized enzymes

The theory for analytical packed-enzyme reactors is discussed and it is shown that a 100% conversion efficiency gives many advantages. This concept has been applied to methods for substrate determinations of urea, amino acids, and glucose. Enzyme reactors have also been used in the effluent from a Chromatographic column to enhance selectivity and sensitivity for cholesterol. Enzyme reactors for the determination of inhibitors, e.g. mercury ions, should be designed differently. A low conversion efficiency gives high sensitivity and a linear response.     

Practical applications of open tubes in liquid chromatography

The practical applications of open tubes in liquid chromatography as separation columns and as reactors for post column derivatization are discussed. With present technology, the potential efficiency of open tubular columns cannot be fully exploited. As reactors in post column derivatization, these tubes offer many advantages if knitted or stitched to enhance radial mass transfer. The application of open tubes with diameters between 0.12 mm and 0.6 mm as reactors in the selective and sensitive detection of amino acids is demonstrated.     

开管柱固定化葡萄糖氧化酶反应器的制备及其在流动注射分析中的应用

本文将葡萄糖氧化酶化学键合到粗糙化的玻璃毛细管内壁上,用开管柱固定化酶反应器-安培检测器进行葡萄糖的流动注射分析。讨论了流速对流动注射分析体系峰电流和分散度的影响,提出了测量开管柱固定化酶表观活力的方法。     

蛋白质组学中的固定化酶反应器制备的研究进展

固定化酶反应器作为蛋白质组学研究中"bottom-up"策略重要的组件,具有酶解快速、酶解效率高、酶稳定性和活性高、简单易操作、能够与多种检测方式联用等优点,对于发展高效快速的蛋白质组学分析方法具有重要意义。本文就固定化酶反应器的制备方法及其在蛋白质组学中的应用做简单的概述,着重介绍酶的固定方法、固定化酶的载体、用于固定的酶的种类。近几年固定化酶反应器的研究集中于提高固酶量、保持酶活性、增加酶解效率、减小非特异性吸附等方面。研究结果表明,采用纳米材料、整体材料等新型载体,提高载体亲水性,采用多酶同时酶解等方法能够有效改善固定化酶反应器的性能,提高蛋白质的鉴定效率。     

Enzyme reactors in unsegmented flow injection analysis

The design of immobilized-enzyme reactors for use in flow injection analysis is discussed. The reactors should be optimized for a short residence time and a very high (> 99.9%) conversion of substrate to products. Selection of carrier and immobilization method is important in order to increase the amount of active enzyme per unit volume. The effeciency of the reactor can be increased by decreasing the particle size in packed-bed reactors and the radius of open tubular reactors. The maximum inherent rate constant that can be obtained under optimal conditions is estimated for a number of enzymes of analytical interest; it is shown that with high rate constants and small particle diamters, residence times less than seconds can be obtained. Some applications of immobilized-enzyme reactors in flow systems are reviewed.     

A strategy for screening trypsin inhibitors from traditional Chinese medicine based on a monolithic capillary immobilized enzyme reactor coupled with offline liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry

A novel strategy was successfully developed for screening trypsin inhibitors in traditional Chinese medicines based on monolithic capillary immobilized enzyme reactors combined with liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry. Organic polymer based monolithic enzyme reactors were firstly prepared by covalently bonding trypsin to a poly(glycidyl methacrylate‐co‐poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate) monolith by the ring‐opening reaction of epoxy groups. The activity and kinetic parameters of the obtained monolithic trypsin reactors were systematically evaluated using micro‐liquid chromatography. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were also used to characterize the monolithic trypsin reactors. The resulting functional and denatured monolithic trypsin reactors were applied as affinity solid‐phase extraction columns, and offline coupled with a liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry system to construct a binding affinity screening platform. Subsequently, the proposed platform was applied for screening trypsin binders in a Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi extract. Three compounds, namely scutellarin, baicalin, and wogonoside were identified, and their inhibitory activities were further confirmed via an in vitro enzymatic inhibition assay. Additionally, molecular docking was also performed to study the interactions between trypsin and these three compounds.     

Capillary electrophoresis mass spectrometry coupling with immobilized enzyme electrospray capillaries

Open tubular capillary enzyme reactors were studied for rapid protein digestion and possible on-line integration into a CE/ESI/MS system. The need to minimize the time of the analyte molecules to diffuse towards the surface immobilized enzyme and to maximize the surface-to-volume (S/V) ratio of the open tubular reactors dictated the use of very narrow bore capillaries. Extremely small protein amounts (atto-femtomoles loaded) could be digested with enzymes immobilized directly on the inside wall of a 10 microm I.D. capillary. Covalently immobilized L-1-tosylamido-2-phenylethyl chloromethyl ketone (TPCK)-trypsin and pepsin A were tested for the surface immobilization. The enzymatic activity was characterized in the flow-through mode with on-line coupling to electrospray ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometer (ESI/TOF-MS) under a range of protein concentrations, buffer pH's, temperatures and reaction times. The optimized reactors were tested as the nanospray needles for fast identification of proteins using CE-ESI/TOF-MS.     

Immobilized‐enzyme reactors integrated with capillary electrophoresis for pharmaceutical research

Enzymes play an essential role in many aspects of pharmaceutical research as drug targets, drug metabolizers, enzyme drugs and more. In this specific field, enzyme assays are required to meet a number of specific requirements, such as low cost, easy automation, and high reliability. The integration of an immobilized‐enzyme reactor to capillary electrophoresis represents a unique approach to fulfilling these criteria by combining the benefits of enzyme immobilization, that is, increased stability and repeated use, as well as the minute sample consumption, short analysis time, and efficient analysis provided by capillary electrophoresis. In this review, we summarize, analyze, and discuss published works where pharmaceutically relevant enzymes were used to prepare capillary electrophoresis‐integrated immobilized‐enzyme reactors in an online manner. The presented assays are divided into three distinct groups based on the drug–enzyme relationship. The first, more extensively studied group employs enzymes that are considered to be therapeutic targets, the second group of assays present tools to assess drug metabolism and the third group assesses enzyme drugs. Furthermore, we examine various methods of enzyme immobilization and their implications for assay properties.     

Dispersion phenomena in reactors for flow analysis

Both coiled open tubular reactors and packed-bed reactors can be used in flow analysis. Band broadening and pressure drop in these reactors are discussed. Theoretical analysis shows that packed-bed reactors are to be preferred. It is shown that for a given residence time and equal band-broadening values the pressure drop over a packed-bed reactor is lower than over a coiled open tubular reactor. Rules for optimal design are given for coiled tubular reactors and packed-bed reactors. The application of both reactors is shown for the spectrophotometric determination of phosphate with a vanadomolybdate reagent yielding a yellow colour.     

Nylon tube-immobilized creatinine iminohydrolase and glutamate dehydrogenase in serum and urine creatinine analysis

Immobilized enzyme nylon-tube reactors incorporating creatinine iminohyrolase (CI) and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) were used to assay creatinine in serum and urine. Optimum substrate concentrations for the assay were determined. The reactors were incorporated into a continuous flow system for creatinine analysis. The method was evaluated with respect to linearity, sample interaction, precision, accuracy, and analytical recovery. Comparison studies were carried out with a standard Jaffé method and the effect of interfering substances was investigated. From the results obtained, it was concluded that the assay was suitable as a simple, reliable, and specific method for serum and urine creatinine determinations.     

A multimembrane enzyme reactor operating in an electric field

Summary A multimembrane enzyme reactor, operating under an electric field, is described. This reactor is based on the concept of isoelectric traps, by which a pair of membranes, of appropriate pI value, are able to trap the enzyme, the buffering ions (which have to be amphoteric), the substrate and, if needed, cofactors. Charged reaction products can thus leave the enzyme chamber and be recovered in other chambers where they are trapped by the same isoelectric mechanism (if amphoteric). The unique advantages of such reactors are absence of enzyme inhibition by a feed-back mechanism and reaction yields approaching 100%. Examples of a urease and a trypsin/casein reactor are given. Presented at the 21^st ISC held in Stuttgart, Germany, 15^th–20^th September, 1996     

Polydopamine‐coated open tubular column for the separation of proteins by capillary electrochromatography

The separation and determination of proteins in food is an important aspect in food industry. Inspired by the self‐polymerization of dopamine under alkaline conditions and the natural adhesive properties of polydopamine, in this paper, a simple and economical method was developed for the preparation of polydopamine‐coated open tubular column, in which ammonium persulfate was used as the source of oxygen to induce and facilitate the polymerization of dopamine to form polydopamine. In comparison with a naked fused‐silica capillary, the direction and magnitude of the electro‐osmotic flow of the as‐prepared polydopamine‐coated open tubular column could be manipulated by varying the pH values of background solutions due to the existence of amine and phenolic hydroxyl groups on polydopamine coating. The surface morphology of the polydopamine‐coated open tubular column was studied by scanning electron microscopy, and the thickness of polydopamine coating was 106 nm. The performance of the polydopamine‐coated open tubular column was validated by analysis of proteins. The relative standard deviations of migration times of proteins representing run‐to‐run, day‐to‐day, and column‐to‐column were less than 3.5%. In addition, the feasibility of the polydopamine‐coated open tubular column for real samples was verified by the separation of proteins in chicken egg white and pure milk.     

Characterization of Ethylene Copolymers with Liquid Chromatography and Melt Rheology Methods

Summary: Melt rheology and polymer chromatography methods were applied to characterize molecular heterogeneities in products of free radical copolymerization of ethylene with methyl acrylate and vinyl acetate comonomers performed in continuously stirred tank and tubular reactors. We found that the ethylene–vinyl acetate copolymers made in both reactors had similar linear viscoelastic properties typical to branched products of the high pressure process. But the ethylene–methyl acrylate copolymers obtained in the tubular reactor had unusually high melt viscosity at low shear rate and much lower onset of shear thinning despite the narrower molecular weight distribution and the lower overall amount of long-chain branches compare to their autoclave counterparts with similar average molecular weight and chemical composition. Using interaction polymer chromatography method called gradient elution at critical point of adsorption we found that ethylene-acrylate copolymers from the tubular reactor had very broad chemical composition distribution, which was consistent with a significant difference in reactivity ratios between ethylene and acrylate comonomers. Such chemical composition heterogeneity can be a reason for the observed unusual rheological properties of these copolymers.     

Design of Nonlinear Model‐Based Control Using Bifurcation Analysis for Solution Polymerizations Carried Out in Lumped‐Distributed Reactors

In order to implement nonlinear control, nonlinear system identification must be performed, however, there are open questions concerning this field of process control, for example, experimental planning, model structure selection, parameter estimation, and validation. Therefore, the study of nonlinear model identification is a relevant unsolved problem that needs to be handled for nonlinear control synthesis. This paper presents the use of bifurcation theory, dynamic and stability analysis for nonlinear identification, and control of polymerization reactors. Peroxide‐initiated styrene‐solution polymerization reactors (lumped‐distributed) are investigated: batch, continuous stirred‐tank reactor (CSTR), and tubular reactors. Open and closed loop analyses are carried out using jacket temperature and weight average molecular weight setpoints as the bifurcation parameters. Phenomenological mathematical models, neural network nonlinear models, and an experimental data from a polymerization unit are employed for validating the proposed methodology in order to implement confident nonlinear controllers.     

窄内径多孔层开管柱的制备及在液相色谱中的应用

近年来,微纳分离技术由于其内在的优势而受到越来越多的关注.多孔层开管柱是一种重要的微分离柱形式,与粗内径的多孔层开管柱(>25μm)相比,窄内径的多孔层开管柱具有更高的分离效率和更低的试剂消耗量.本文综述了内径≤25μm的窄内径多孔层开管毛细管柱的制备方法、与质谱检测联用技术以及在液相色谱中的应用研究进展,对其发展前景进行了展望.     

A novel open‐tubular capillary electrochromatography using carboxymethyl‐β‐cyclodextrin functionalized gold nanoparticles as chiral stationary phase

Enantioselective open tubular capillary electrochromatography with carboxymethyl‐β‐cyclodextrin conjugated gold nanoparticles as stationary phase was developed. This novel open tubular column was fabricated through layer‐by‐layer self‐assembly of gold nanoparticles on a 3‐mercaptopropyl‐trimethoxysilane‐modified fused‐silica capillary and subsequent surface functionalization of the gold nanoparticles through self‐assembly of 6‐mercapto‐β‐cyclodextrin. The 6‐mercapto‐β‐cyclodextrin was firstly synthesized and determined by extensive spectroscopic data. Scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X‐ray analysis spectroscopy, and electroosmotic flow experiments were carried out to characterize the prepared open tubular column. Then, the separation effectiveness of the open tubular column was verified by two pairs of ɑ‐tetralones derivatives enantiomers and two pairs of basic drug enantiomers (tramadol hydrochloride and zopiclone) as mode analytes. Factors that influence the enantioseparation were optimized, and under the optimized conditions, satisfactory separation results were obtained for the four enantiomers: compound A, compound B, tramadol hydrochloride, and zopiclone with resolutions of 3.79, 1.56, 1.03, 1.60, respectively. For the combination of gold nanoparticles and negatively charged carboxymethyl‐β‐cyclodextrin, the open tubular column exhibited wider separation range for neutral and basic drugs. Moreover, the repeatability and stability of the column were studied through the run‐to‐run and day‐to‐day investigations.     

羧甲基壳聚糖修饰的开管毛细管电色谱柱的制备与表征

以γ-(2,3-环氧丙氧基)丙基三甲氧基硅烷为偶联剂,将羧甲基壳聚糖键合至毛细管内壁上。对毛细管预处理、硅烷化以及羧甲基壳聚糖键合反应参数进行了优化,考察了开管柱内表面结构形貌、电渗流、重现性和电色谱分离性能。扫描电镜图显示羧甲基壳聚糖均匀地键合在毛细管内表面。调节流动相的pH值可产生正向和反向电渗流,电渗流的相对标准偏差(RSD): 日内小于0.8%(n=6)、日间小于3.5%(n=3)、同一批次间小于4.3%(n=3)、不同批次柱间小于6.1%(n=3),重现性较好。4种核苷酸(腺嘌呤核苷酸、鸟嘌呤核苷酸、胞嘧啶核苷酸、尿嘧啶核苷酸)在修饰后的毛细管电色谱柱上得到了较好的分离,柱效达到36000～182000 塔板/m。结果表明,所建立的开管柱制备方法简单有效、稳定性好。     

Open‐tubular capillary electrochromatographic application of a sol‐gel matrix with chilli peppers,garlic, or synthetic additives

This article describes a possible combination of two promising fields of analytical chemistry—the preparation of sol‐gel matrices with varying additives and their application in capillary electrochromatography. The inner surfaces of capillaries were coated with the sol‐gel solution containing either pure synthetic chemical additive—alliin or capsaicin—or an extract of their natural sources—garlic and chilli pepper, respectively. The modified capillaries were tested for interaction with two neurotransmitters, oligopeptides and nucleotides under conditions of open‐tubular capillary electrochromatography. Because both of the natural extracts also contain vitamin C and saccharose, the capillaries with sol‐gel modifiers containing each of these substances were also tested. The obtained results from the perspective of changes in the electrochromatograms and the effective mobilities of analytes are discussed with respect to mild conditions both in the preparation process of the sol‐gel matrix and during the separations.     

Application of open tubular electrochromatography for acidic and basic analytes

Summary The separation of charged analytes by electrochromatography has been examined on porous-layer open tubular capillaries prepared using the sol gel method. An electroosmotic flow of about 2.10×10⁴ cm²V¹s¹ was obtained using between 10 and 30% acetonitrile in the mobile phase. Acidic diuretic drug compounds were successfully separated at high pH as were theN-alkylanilines in their basic and neutral forms. The limitation of open tubular columns was observed on separating some basic pharmaceutical drugs. These components showed severe peak tailing and were not resolved on a 20 μm i.d. porous silica layer open tubular column. Strongly acidic components could not be detected on these columns due to their higher counter electromobilities. The successful separation of neutral aryl alkyl ketones with an efficiency of 101,533 plates m¹ for butyrophenone was an indication of the improved phase ratio on this type of open tubular columns.     

Effectiveness of the H-root method for determining adsorption isotherms of protein-salt systems in open micro-channels

The application of the H-root method (HRM) for predicting isotherm data for protein-salt systems in open-channel chromatographs is presented. HRM mainly consists of performing a regression of the chromatographic response of a system in order to predict the isotherms of the solutes. The method is applicable to proteins with Type I (Langmuir) isotherms. HRM enables a quick determination of the effects of salt on protein isotherms, to facilitate the development of preparative separation protocols of trace proteins in open micro-channel systems. Two configurations were investigated: micro open parallel plate system (microOPPS) and micro open tubular system (microOTS). The effectiveness of HRM was evaluated by simulating the behavior of these open-channel systems with mass-transfer effects included. The influence of operating and geometrical parameters was determined with a detailed parametric study. It was found that HRM can give good estimates of the adsorption isotherms in both micro-channel systems. This is primarily attributed to efficient mass transfer, which ensured correspondence to the equilibrium assumption of HRM. In general, the microOTS was found to give more accurate predictions than the microOPPS. This is attributed to the smooth circular perimeter of flow. Nevertheless, the difference in accuracy is generally insignificant, and with the proper selection of operating conditions, both systems are well suited for HRM.