N-Methylimidazolium modified magnetic particles as adsorbents for solid phase extraction of genomic deoxyribonucleic acid from genetically modified soybeans

N-Methylimidazolium modified magnetic particles (MIm-MPs) were prepared and applied in the solid phase extraction of genomic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from genetically modified soybeans. The adsorption of MIm-MPs for DNA mainly resulted from the strong electrostatic interaction between the positively charged MPs and the negatively charged DNA. The elution of DNA from MPs–DNA conjugates using phosphate buffer resulted from the stronger electrostatic interaction of phosphate ions with MPs than DNA. In the extraction procedure, no harmful reagents (e.g. phenol, chloroform and isopropanol, etc.) used, high yield (10.4 μg DNA per 30 mg sample) and high quality (A₂₆₀/A₂₈₀ = 1.82) of DNA can be realized. The as-prepared DNA was used as template for duplex-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the PCR products were analyzed by a sieving capillary electrophoresis method. Quick and high quality extraction of DNA template, and fast and high resolution detection of duplex PCR products can be realized using the developed method. No toxic reagents are used throughout the method.     

Boronate functionalized magnetic nanoparticles and off-line hyphenation with capillary electrophoresis for specific extraction and analysis of biomolecules containing cis-diols

In recent years, functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have drawn continuously increasing attention due to their great potential for capturing biological molecules or species. However, functionalized MNPs as nanoextraction probes and the coupling with a separation platform for chemical analysis have not extensively investigated yet. In this study, boronate functionalized MNPs were synthesized and employed as extracting probes to capture and enrich cis-diol-containing biomolecules, and an off-line coupling method of the MNPs-based extraction with capillary electrophoresis (CE) was established by using pH junction, an on-line preconcentration technique in CE, as a bridge for the coupling. The prepared MNPs exhibited specific selectivity and sufficient capacity. The pH junction compressed a large injected sample volume into a much narrower sample zone and therefore significantly improved the detection sensitivity, solving the sensitivity mismatch between the MNPs-based extraction and CE. Experimental conditions for the pH junction and the desorption were optimized. Under the optimized conditions, the sensitivity was enhanced by 42-fold as compared with regular CE. N,N-dimethylformamide was found to be an effective desorption promoter, which reduced the desorption time to a few minutes. With the established method, riboflavin in a human urine sample was determined.     

毛细管凝胶电泳紫外检测核酸灵敏度

以已知浓度的DNA Marker为标准样品,常规压力进样,电动进样,柱头场放大及联合使用基质场放大和柱头场放大等方法进行CGE-UV分析,对比不同进样方法的检测灵敏度.以聚合酶链式反应(PCR)后的高盐DNA样品验证方法的可靠性.当DNA样品稀释达40万倍,与电动进样和压力进样相比,在对峰形和峰宽无明显影响下,将电动进样的时间延至420 s,三羟甲基氨基甲烷-盐酸缓冲液(TE)浓度降低至1.5%,柱头场放大灵敏度分别提高了约28和90倍;联合使用基质场放大和柱头场放大后,灵敏度分别提高3760和12000倍.DNA的检出限达0.1 μg/L(S/N=3,CGE-FASI-UV).同时以本法分析PCR后的DNA产物获得了极高的灵敏度(分别比普通的压力进样和电动进样提高50477倍和33354倍).本实验采用基质场放大和柱头场放大联用,方法操作简单,灵敏度高,适用于高盐微量的DNA样品分析.     

High-throughput gender determination using automated denaturant gel capillary electrophoresis

Sex determination of anonymous samples is a requirement before analysis of DNA variation on X or Y chromosomes. Based on this, we designed a method for screening samples on different DNA capillary sequencing instruments with a sensitivity that is able to quantify sex chromosome abnormalities. The two different amelogenin alleles sited on the X and Y chromosomes were polymerase chain reaction amplified with the same set of primers and separated by denaturant capillary electrophoresis (DCE). Sex chromosome ratios could be reproducibly determined with a relative standard deviation of 8.7%, which is sufficient to distinguish a normal XY karyotype from an XYY karyotype associated with Klinefelter syndrome. Reconstruction experiments demonstrated sensitivity down to a simulated Y:X allelic ratio of 1:127 in all three instruments, enabling the prediction of sex chromosomal aneuploidies. When tested on anonymous pooled and single samples, DCE gave a good prediction of the male to female ratio in pools of 1000 blood donors. In conclusion, DCE is a simple and robust method for sex determination that can be readily performed on commercially available CE systems.     

Selective extraction of berberine from Cortex Phellodendri using polydopamine‐coated magnetic nanoparticles

A new extraction agent featuring dopamine self‐polymerized on magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles has been successfully synthesized and evaluated for the SPE of berberine from the extract of the traditional Chinese medicinal plant, Cortex Phellodendri. The nanoparticles prepared possessed a core–shell structure and showed super‐paramagnetism. It was found that these polydopamine‐coated nanoparticles exhibited strong and selective adsorption for berberine. Among the chemical components present in C. Phellodendri, only berberine was adsorbed by the nanoparticles and extracted by a following SPE procedure. Various conditions such as the amount of polydopamine‐coated nanoparticles, desorption solvent, desorption time and equilibrium time were optimized for the SPE of berberine. The purity of berberine extracted from C. Phellodendri was determined to be as high as 91.3% compared with that of 9.5% in the extract. The established SPE protocol combined advantages of highly selective enrichment with easy magnetic separation, and proved to be a facile efficient procedure for the isolation of berberine. Further, the prepared polydopamine‐coated magnetic nanoparticles could be reused for multiple times, reducing operational cost. The applicability and reliability of the developed SPE method were demonstrated by isolating berberine from three different C. Phellodendri extracts. Recoveries of 85.4–111.2% were obtained with relative standard deviations ranging from 0.27–2.05%.     

Investigation of iron oxide nanoparticles by capillary zone electrophoresis

The electrophoretic behavior of γ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles was studied in aqueous solutions of Na₂SO₄-NaOH (pH 10.8) and of Na₂SO₄-Na₃cit (pH 7.1) as running electrolytes. Two electrophoretic zones (smooth and with spikes) due to colloidal and suspended particles of approximately the same size range were formed during the runs. The suspension stability and size distribution were shown to depend on the composition of electrolyte used for dispersing the solids. The effects of electric field strength, injection time, injection pressure as well as sodium citrate concentration were studied and particle electrophoretic mobilities were calculated. Electron micrographs of particles studied were obtained. Preparation of reference samples based on the colloidal γ-Fe₂O₃ has been discussed.     

Aptamer functionalized magnetic graphene oxide nanocomposites for highly selective capture of histones

The binding coverage of aptamer was an important restricted factor for aptamer‐based affinity enrichment strategy for capturing target molecules. Herein, we designed and prepared aptamer functionalized graphene oxide based nanocomposites (GO/NH₂‐NTA/Fe₃O₄/PEI/Au), and the coverage density of aptamer was high to 33.1 nmol/mg. The high aptamer coverage density was contributed to the large surface area of graphene oxide. The successive modification of Nα,Nα‐Bis(carboxymethyl)‐L‐lysine, magnetic nanoparticles, polyethylenimine, and Au nanoparticles ensured the histone purification with fast speed and high purity. Histones could be captured rapidly and specifically from nucleoproteins by our aptamer based purification strategy, while traditional acid‐extraction could not specifically enrich histones. Compared with traditional acid‐extraction method, rapid and efficient discovery of histones and their post‐translational modifications, such as several kinds of methylation at H3.1K9 and H3.1K27, were achieved confidently. It demonstrated that our aptamer functionalized magnetic graphene oxide nanocomposites have a great potential for histone analysis.     

乙肝病毒聚合酶链反应扩增产物的毛细管电泳测定

本文用毛细管电泳对乙肝病毒聚合酶反应扩增产物进行了检测，并用这一方法和酶联免疫吸附实验以及ＰＣＲ与传统电泳联用的方法进行比较，探讨了用高效，快速，微量，易自动化的毛细管电泳代替传统检测方法的可能性，取得了令人满意的结果。     

BRAF mutation detection and identification by cycling temperature capillary electrophoresis

BRAF mutations are found in many human tumors, namely melanomas ( approximately 70%) and colon carcinomas ( approximately 15%). This paper presents a method for identification of exon 15 BRAF mutations by denaturant capillary electrophoresis (CE), an analysis method that is sensitive, cost-effective (involving only polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and electrophoresis) and capable of high-throughput screening. In total, we found 21 (70%) out of 30 melanoma cell lines with BRAF mutations in exon 15: two of which were the p.Val600Asp (c.1799-800TG>AT) mutation, one cell line contained the p.Val600Arg (c.1798-99GT>AG) mutation, and 18 cell lines contained the p.Val600Glu (c.1799T>A) mutation. Of the nine cell lines that did not contain a BRAF mutation, five contained an NRAS mutation at exon 2, and no mutations were detected in NRAS exon 1. There was no overlap of NRAS and BRAF mutations in the same cell line. In addition, we looked at 221 colon biopsy samples and identified one further BRAF mutation, the p.Asp594Gly (c.1781A>G) mutation, in seven samples. The p.Val600Glu mutation was identified in 11 of the colon biopsy samples. Using the four mutations of BRAF exon 15, we then constructed a denaturing CE standard capable of distinguishing between each of the mutations; therefore, sequencing does not need to be performed to confirm the mutation. In conclusion, this sensitive, cost-effective mutation assay for BRAF (and RAS) will provide the opportunity to detect and determine mutations without the need to purify samples for sequencing. Future large-scale studies will provide the clinical usefulness of such mutations.     

N-Methylimidazolium modified magnetic particles-assisted highly sensitive Escherichia coli detection based on polymerase chain reaction and capillary electrophoresis

Effective bacteria detection and quantification are essential prerequisite for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. Herein, we report a method for the detection and quantification of Escherichia coli (E. coli).N-Methylimidazolium modified magnetic particles (MIm-MPs) are synthesized successfully and used as an efficient magnetic material for the isolation and concentration of E. coli. The factors including pH of binding buffer, concentration of elution buffer and elution time which may affect the capture and elution efficiencies are optimized. The linear correlation between bacteria concentration and peak area of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product analyzed by capillary electrophoresis (CE) is determined. Rapid preconcentration of trace amount of E. coli (10¹ cfu mL⁻¹) in large volume of aqueous sample (500 mL) is achieved, and the capture efficiency can reach 99%. The quantification of bacteria in large volume of spiked tap water and mineral water samples is realized. The recoveries for different concentrations of E. coli in tap and mineral water samples are in the range between 83% and 93%. The results demonstrate that this MIm-MPs-PCR-CE method can be applied to detect and quantify bacteria in real samples.     

Studying the size/shape separation and optical properties of silver nanoparticles by capillary electrophoresis

This paper describes the feasibility of employing capillary electrophoresis (CE) to separate silver particles in nanometer regimes. We have found that the addition of an anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), to the running electrolyte prevents coalescence of the silver particles during the process, which improves the separation performance; the concentration of SDS required for optimal silver nanoparticle separation is ca. 20 mM. By monitoring the electropherograms using a diode-array detection (DAD) system, we have also investigated the separation of suspended silver nanorods with respect to their shapes. Our results demonstrate that the combination of CE and DAD is a powerful one for the separation and characterization of various silver nanoparticles.     

Phenyl‐functionalized silica‐coated magnetic nanoparticles for the extraction of chlorobenzenes,and their determination by GC‐electron capture detection

We have prepared a solid phase for the extraction of chlorobenzenes (CBs) by coating magnetic (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles with silica via a sol‐gel process using a mixture of tetraethoxysilane and triethoxyphenylsilane. The nanoparticles were characterized by SEM, energy‐dispersive spectroscopy, and X‐ray diffractometry. The nanoparticles were used for the extraction of 1,4‐dichlorobenzene (1,4‐DCB), 1,2,3‐trichlorobenzene (1,2,3‐TCB), 1,2,4‐trichlorobenzene (1,2,4‐TCB), and 1,2,3,4‐tetrachlorobenzene (1,2,3,4‐TeCB) from water, followed by their determination by GC‐electron capture detection. Under optimal conditions, enrichment factors ranging from 220 to 360 were obtained. All determination coefficients (r²) are >0.99, and linear response is found in range 0.025–1.5 μg/L (at the lower end), and 6–120 μg/L (at the higher end). Detection limits are 6, 10, 11, and 500 ng/L for 1,2,3,4‐TeCB, 1,2,4‐TCB, 1,2,3‐TCB, and 1,4‐DCB, respectively. All RSDs are <6% (for n = 5). The method was successfully applied to the determination of CBs in environmental water samples.     

The application of functional silica nanoparticles to fulfill the rapid and improved enantioselective capillary electrophoresis separation of amino acid derivatives

In this study, diamino moiety functionalized silica nanoparticles with the size of 118 ± 12 nm were successfully synthesized and directly introduced into a chiral capillary electrophoresis system to improve the enantioseparation of 9‐fluorenyl methoxycarbonyl derivatized amino acids using norvancomycin as chiral selector. Under acidic background electrolyte conditions, functional silica nanoparticles can be readily adsorbed onto the inner surface of bare silica capillary column through electrostatic interaction to form a dynamic coating, resulting in a reversed anodic electro‐osmotic flow (i.e. from cathode to anode). As expected, chiral amino acid derivatives (usually negatively charged) can be rapidly separated under co‐electro‐osmotic flow conditions in the current separation system. Furthermore, the column performance and detection sensitivity for the enantioseparation were also obviously improved because the adsorption of chiral selector of norvancomycin to the capillary wall was greatly suppressed. Some important factors influencing the separation, such as the coating thickness, background electrolyte concentration, functional silica nanoparticles concentration, and the organic modifier were also investigated and the optimized separation conditions were obtained.     

Precision length determination and in silico simulation in PCR of microsatellite repeat sequences

Despite being commonplace, polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) still contain many unknown aspects. One example is microsatellite PCR, which is now widely used for various purposes from ecology to cancer medicine. Since this category of repetitive DNA sequences induces polymerase slippage not only in vivo but also in vitro, microsatellite PCR products comprise a complex combination of DNA fragments with various lengths and have, therefore, been empirically interpreted. The primary obstacle for understanding microsatellite PCR was the intrinsic inaccuracy in sizing of DNA fragments in capillary electrophoresis (CE), which, however, has been overcome by elucidating intrinsic sizing errors in each fragment length range. Secondly, the slippage properties of the thermostable polymerases were first clarified in detail using primer extension assays. Furthermore, using the obtained slippage parameters and our original program, we have first reconstructed microsatellite PCR in silico. The entire processes of complex microsatellite PCR have, thus, been more clearly understood.     

Highly selective capture of nucleosides with boronic acid functionalized polymer brushes prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization

The nucleoside or modified nucleoside level in biological fluids reflects the pathological or physiological state of the body. Boronate affinity absorbents are widely used to selectively extract nucleosides from complex samples. In this work, a novel functionalized absorbent was synthesized by attaching 4‐mercaptophenylboronic acid to gold nanoparticles on modified attapulgite. The surface of the attapulgite was modified by poly(acryloyloxyethyltrimethyl ammonium chloride) by atom transfer radical polymerization, creating many polymer brushes on the surface. The resultant material exhibited superior binding capacity (30.83 mg/g) for adenosine and was able to capture cis‐diol nucleosides from 1000‐fold interferences. Finally, to demonstrate its potential for biomolecule extraction, this boronate affinity material was used to preconcentrate nucleosides from human urine and plasma.     

Determination of catecholamines in urine using aminophenylboronic acid functionalized magnetic nanoparticles extraction followed by high‐performance liquid chromatography and electrochemical detection

A new method was developed for the simultaneous determination of three catecholamines in urine using aminophenylboronic acid functionalized magnetic nanoparticles extraction followed by high‐performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Novel aminophenylboronic acid functionalized magnetic nanoparticles were prepared by multi‐step covalent modification, and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier‐transformed infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, and vibrating sample magnetometry. With the help of the high affinity between the boronate and cis‐diol group, the particles were used for the highly selective separation and enrichment of three major catecholamines, norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine. Effects of the pH of the feed solution, the extraction time, the composition of the buffer solution, the amount of the magnetic particles, the elution conditions, and the recycling of aminophenylboronic acid functionalized magnetic nanoparticles were explored. Under the optimized conditions, 13–17‐fold enrichment factors were obtained. The linear ranges were 0.01–2.0 μg/mL for the studied analytes. The limits of detection and quantification were in the range of 2.0–7.9 and 6.7–26.3 ng/mL, respectively. The relative recoveries were in the range of 92–108%, with intraday and interday relative standard deviations lower than 6.8%. This method was successfully applied to analysis of catecholamines in real urine.     

Fluorochrome-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles for high-sensitivity monitoring of the polymerase chain reaction by magnetic resonance

Easy to find: magnetic nanoparticles bearing fluorochromes (red) that intercalate with DNA (green) form microaggregates with DNA generated by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). These aggregates can be detected at low cycle numbers by magnetic resonance (MR).     

A modular microfluidic system for deoxyribonucleic acid identification by short tandem repeat analysis

Microfluidic technology has been utilized in the development of a modular system for DNA identification through STR (short tandem repeat) analysis, reducing the total analysis time from the ∼6 h required with conventional approaches to less than 3 h. Results demonstrate the utilization of microfluidic devices for the purification, amplification, separation and detection of 9 loci associated with a commercially-available miniSTR amplification kit commonly used in the forensic community. First, DNA from buccal swabs purified in a microdevice was proven amplifiable for the 9 miniSTR loci via infrared (IR)-mediated PCR (polymerase chain reaction) on a microdevice. Microchip electrophoresis (ME) was then demonstrated as an effective method for the separation and detection of the chip-purified and chip-amplified DNA with results equivalent to those obtained using conventional separation methods on an ABI 310 Genetic Analyzer. The 3-chip system presented here demonstrates development of a modular, microfluidic system for STR analysis, allowing for user-discretion as to how to proceed after each process during the analysis of forensic casework samples.     

Polydopamine‐coated magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer for the selective solid‐phase extraction of cinnamic acid,ferulic acid and caffeic acid from radix scrophulariae sample

We describe novel cinnamic acid polydopamine‐coated magnetic imprinted polymers for the simultaneous selective extraction of cinnamic acid, ferulic acid and caffeic acid from radix scrophulariae sample. The novel magnetic imprinted polymers were synthesized by surface imprinting polymerization using magnetic multi‐walled carbon nanotubes as the support material, cinnamic acid as the template and dopamine as the functional monomer. The magnetic imprinted polymers were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometry. The results revealed that the magnetic imprinted polymers had outstanding magnetic properties, high adsorption capacity, selectivity and fast kinetic binding toward cinnamic acid, ferulic acid and caffeic acid. Coupled with high‐performance liquid chromatography, the extraction conditions of the magnetic imprinted polymers as a magnetic solid‐phase extraction sorbent were investigated in detail. The proposed imprinted magnetic solid phase extraction procedure has been used for the purification and enrichment of cinnamic acid, ferulic acid and caffeic acid successfully from radix scrophulariae extraction sample with recoveries of 92.4–115.0% for cinnamic acid, 89.4–103.0% for ferulic acid and 86.6–96.0% for caffeic acid.     

Ligand fishing from Dioscorea nipponica extract using human serum albumin functionalized magnetic nanoparticles

Dioscorea nipponica and the preparations made from it have been used for long to prevent and treat coronary heart disease in traditional Chinese medicine. A group of steroidal saponins present in the plant are believed to be the active ingredients. It has been a challenge to study the individual saponins separately due to the similarities in their chemical and physical properties. In this work, human serum albumin (HSA) functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were used to isolate and identify saponin ligands that bind to HSA from D. nipponica extract. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) was used for compound identification and semi-quantification. Three saponins, i.e. dioscin, gracillin, and pseudo-protodioscin showed affinity to HSA-MNPs and thus isolated effectively from the extract. The other two saponins detected in the extract (i.e. protodioscin and 26-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-3β,20α,26-triol-25(R)-Δ^5,22-dienofurostan-3-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl (1→2)-[α-l-rhamnopyranosyl (1 → 4)]-β-d-glucopyranoside) exhibited no affinity at all. Among the three saponins fished out, dioscin bound to HSA much stronger than gracillin and pseudo-protodioscin did. The results indicated that affinity interaction between HSA immobilized on MNPs and small molecule compounds were highly dependent on chemical structures and, potentially, medicinal usefulness. The present work demonstrates a facile and effective way to isolate and identify ligands of receptors from medicinal plants.