Advances in capillary electrophoretically mediated microanalysis

Recent developments in the use of capillary electrophoretic techniques for the in-line study of enzyme reactions and derivatization protocols are reviewed. The article is divided into two parts: (i) in-line enzyme reactions and (ii) in-line derivatization. The first part introduces electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA) and discusses and illustrates the different modes of EMMA. A literature overview is provided, starting from 1996, and the investigated enzymes are classified into two tables based on the mode of engagement (i.e., continuous or transient) of the developed EMMA-based assay. The second part starts with an introduction of the procedures and the nomenclature used in the area of in-line derivatization protocols based on EMMA. Reported derivatization procedures are discussed and classified in tables, according to the functional group that is derivatized.     

Study of substrate inhibition by electrophoretically mediated microanalysis in partially filled capillary

Substrate inhibition is a common phenomenon in enzyme kinetics. We report here for the first time its study by a combination of the electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA) methodology with a partial filling technique. In this setup, the part of capillary is filled with the buffer best for the enzymatic reaction whereas, the rest of the capillary is filled with the background electrolyte optimal for separation of substrates and products. In the case of haloalkane dehalogenase, a model enzyme selected for this study, the enzymatic reaction was performed in 20 mM glycine buffer (pH 8.6) whereas 20 mM beta-alanine-hydrochloric acid buffer (pH 3.5) was used as a background electrolyte in combination with direct detection at 200 nm. The whole study was performed on poorly soluble brominated substrate--1,2-dibromoethane. As a result it was first necessary to find the compromise between the concentrations of the enzyme and the substrate preserving both the adequate sensitivity of the assay and at the same time the attainable substrate solubility. By means of the developed EMMA methodology we were able to determine the Michaelis constant (K(M)) as well as the substrate inhibition constant (K(SI)). The value of K(M) and K(SI) obtained were 7.7+/-2.5 mM and 1.1+/-0.4 mM, respectively. Observation of the substrate inhibition of haloalkane dehalogenase by 1,2-dibromoethane is in accordance with previous literature data.     

Speciation of chromium by in-capillary derivatization and electrophoretically mediated microanalysis

An electrophoretic method for chromium speciation analysis--as Cr(III) and Cr(VI)--based on in-capillary derivatization with 1,5-diphenylcarbazide (DPC) is here proposed. As Cr(III) does not react with DPC, it was oxidized also in-capillary to Cr(VI) by Ce(IV). For this purpose, a capillary electrophoresis (CE) mode called electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA) based on sequential injection of sample and reagents--namely, DPC, sample and Ce(IV)--was employed. The conditions of both reactions--Cr(III) oxidation and Cr(VI)-DPC derivatization--were optimized in order to quantify separately the Cr(VI)-DPC complex from the original Cr(VI) in the sample and that from oxidation of Cr(III) to Cr(VI). The electrophoretic conditions were independently optimized for variables influencing the resolution and those affecting sensitivity. The method thus developed was applied to the determination of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) in glass material, for which different sample preparation methods--namely, EPA method 3060A, ultrasound-assisted leaching and microwave-assisted digestion--were tested. Microwave-assisted digestion was found to be the best sample preparation alternative in terms of efficiency of the step--99.6 and 98.3% for Cr(VI) and Cr(III), respectively--and procedure time--20 min. The complete method was validated with the certified reference material BAM-S004.     

Kinetic study of cytochrome P450 by capillary electrophoretically mediated microanalysis

An electrophoretically mediated microanalysis method for the determination of CYP3A4 activity using testosterone and nifedipine as substrates was developed. Initially, the enzymatic reaction was performed off-line and the samples were subsequently injected into the capillary by pressure. The CYP3A4 activity was determined by quantitation of the reactant cofactor, NADPH. To further optimize, speed-up and miniaturize the enzyme assay, the enzymatic reaction was performed directly in the capillary, prior to separation and quantitation of the product cofactor, NADP, employing the plug-plug mode of electrophoretically mediated microanalysis. An amplification step was introduced by means of an on-capillary incubation of 15 min, in order to accumulate enough reaction product to detect spectrophotometrically at 260 nm. This setup resulted in a fully automated assay, which can be carried out in less than 35 min. Using the Lineweaver-Burk equation, the Michaelis constants (K(m)) for the oxidation of testosterone and nifedipine by CYP3A4 were calculated to be 58.6+/-8.3 and 19.1+/-2.4 microM, respectively, which are consistent with off-line assay and previously reported values.     

Tyrosinase inhibitor screening in traditional Chinese medicines by electrophoretically mediated microanalysis

A capillary‐electrophoresis‐based method for the screening of tyrosinase inhibitors in traditional Chinese medicines was developed. The method integrated electrophoretically mediated microanalysis with sandwich mode injection, partial filling, and rapid polarity switching techniques, and carried out on‐column enzyme reaction and the separation of substrate and product. The conditions were optimized including the background electrolyte, mixing voltage, and the incubation time. Finally, the screening of nine standard natural compounds of traditional Chinese medicines was carried out. The inhibitors can be directly identified from the reduced peak area of the product compared to that obtained without any inhibitor. Chlorogenic acid (100 μM) showed inhibitory activity with the inhibitory percentage of 19.8%, while the other compounds showed no inhibitory activity. This method has great application potential in drug discovery from traditional Chinese medicines.     

Determination of the kinetic parameters of adenosine deaminase by electrophoretically mediated microanalysis

The possibility of determining the Michaelis constant of the irreversible deamination of adenosine to inosine by adenosine deaminase, using capillary electrophoresis, was investigated. This paper describes the use of electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA) as the technique for carrying out the assay. Initial reaction velocities of the enzymatic reaction were estimated from the peak area of inosine, and the Michaelis constant was calculated according to the Lineweaver-Burk equation. The result (K_m = 5.3 × 10⁻⁵ M ± 8 × 10⁻⁶ M) was consistent with previously reported values. Using the present method, a total amount of as few as 1.2 fmole of enzyme and 9.2 ng of substrate were injected in the capillary for the construction of a Michaelis Menten curve (seven concentrations of substrate, each concentration analyzed in triplicate), which is far smaller than the quantities required in conventional methods.     

Advances in capillary electrophoretically mediated microanalysis: an update

This review, as a continuation of an earlier report, gives an overview of recent developments, over the period from 2003 until now, in the use of capillary electrophoretic techniques for the in-line study of enzymatic reactions, derivatization, and chemical reactions. The article is divided into two parts: (i) in-line enzymatic reactions and (ii) in-line derivatization and chemical reactions. The first part introduces electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA) and discusses and illustrates the different modes of EMMA. A literature overview on enzymatic reactions is provided. The second part starts with an introduction of the procedures and the nomenclature used in the area of in-line derivatization and chemical reactions based on EMMA. Reported derivatization and chemical reaction procedures are discussed and summarized.     

Determination of kanamycin by electrophoretically mediated microanalysis with in-capillary derivatization and UV detection

An electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA) approach, used to perform on-line chemistry between two small molecules, has been characterized and optimized. The plug-plug type EMMA method involved electrophoretic mixing and subsequent reaction of nanoliter plugs of kanamycin-containing samples and 1,2-phthalic dicarboxaldehyde and mercaptoacetic acid within the confines of the capillary column, which acts as a microreactor. Analyses were performed by pressure-injecting a plug of kanamycin sandwiched in two reagent plugs. A potential of 375 Vcm(-1) was then applied to electrophoretically mix the two reactants, and an incubation time of up to 5 min allowed the reaction to proceed prior to the application of a separation potential of 588 Vcm(-1). UV detection was at 335 nm. The background electrolyte was 30 mM sodium tetraborate at pH 10.0, containing 16% of methanol. The method was validated in terms of linearity, limits of quantitation and detection, and precision. The method allows determination of kanamycin in bulk samples as a fully automated procedure.     

Stereospecific electrophoretically mediated microanalysis assay for methionine sulfoxide reductase enzymes

An electrophoretically mediated microanalysis assay (EMMA) for the determination of the stereoselective reduction of l-methionine sulfoxide diastereomers by methionine sulfoxide reductase enzymes was developed using fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl (Fmoc)-l-methionine sulfoxide as substrate. The separation of the diastereomers of Fmoc-l-methionine sulfoxide and the product Fmoc-l-methionine was achieved in a successive multiple ionic-polymer layer-coated capillary using a 50 mM Tris buffer, pH 8.0, containing 30 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate as background electrolyte and an applied voltage of 25 kV. 4-Aminobenzoic acid was employed as internal standard. An injection sequence of incubation buffer, enzyme, substrate, enzyme, and incubation buffer was selected. The assay was optimized with regard to mixing time and mixing voltage and subsequently applied for the analysis of stereoselective reduction of Fmoc-l-methionine-(S)-sulfoxide by human methionine sulfoxide reductase A and of the Fmoc-l-methionine-(R)-sulfoxide by human methionine sulfoxide reductase B. The Michaelis–Menten constant, K _m, and the maximum velocity, v _max, were determined. Essentially identical data were determined by the electrophoretically mediated microanalysis assay and the analysis of the samples by CE upon offline incubation. Furthermore, it was shown for the first time that Fmoc-methionine-(R)-sulfoxide is a substrate of human methionine sulfoxide reductase B.

Rapid screening of aminopeptidase N inhibitors by capillary electrophoresis with electrophoretically mediated microanalysis

In this work, an electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA) method with a partial‐filling technique was setup to evaluate the inhibitory potency of novel compounds toward aminopeptidase N (APN). It was necessary to optimize the electrophoretic conditions with respect to the kinetic constraints and for attaining high sensitivity. In our setup, a part of the capillary was filled with the incubation buffer for the enzyme reaction, whereas the rest was filled with a suitable BGE for the separation of substrates and products. To monitor the performance of the newly developed method, the kinetic constants (K_m and V_max) for the catalyzed dissociation of l ‐Leucine‐p‐nitroanilide in the presence of APN as well as the inhibition constant (IC₅₀) of a known competitive inhibitor, that is bestatin, were determined and these results were compared with those obtained by a classical spectrophotometric assay. The developed EMMA method was subsequently applied to the screening of 30 APN inhibitors. Whereas the inhibition potency of these inhibitors (expressed in IC₅₀ values) were significantly underestimated by the EMMA method, the order of the inhibitory potential of these various compounds was found in agreement with the literature.     

Interactions of Pb2+ with fulvic acid by electrophoretically mediated on-capillary microanalysis

Studies of yessotoxin involving confirmation of fragmentation processes using a high-resolution orthogonal hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight (QqTOF) mass spectrometer and nanoLC hybrid quadrupole TOF MS have been undertaken. The fragmentation of YTX was studied in negative mode using nano electrospray (nanoESI) QqTOF mass spectrometry. Three major molecule-related ions were observed, [M - 2Na + H]-, [M - Na]- and [M - 2Na]2-, and fragmentation of the latter was studied in detail. This showed that product ions were formed as a consequence of charge-remote fragmentation processes that included a strong directional cleavage of the polyether rings of YTX. NanoLC coupled with QqTOF MS was used to determine YTX in small samples of the phytoplankton, Protoceratium reticulatum, by monitoring the [M - 2Na]2- ion at m/z 570. A PepMap C18 nanoLC column (75 microm x 10 cm, 100 A, 3 microm, LC Packings) was used and the solvent was acetonitrile/water (90:10 (v/v)) containing 1 mM ammonium acetate, at a flow rate of 400 nl/min, for 30 min. Calibrations obtained with YTX standard solutions were linear over four orders of magnitude, 0.75-250 ng/ml; r2 = 0.9947-0.9998. Phytoplankton cells (ca. 100-300) were picked, extracted with methanol/water (40:60), and the YTX concentration was determined over the range 0.011-0.020 ng/cell. The detection limit (3 x S/N) of this method was ca. 0.5 pg YTX on-column.     

Development of electrophoretically mediated microanalysis method for the kinetics study of flavin-containing monooxygenase in a partially filled capillary

An electrophoretically mediated microanalysis method with a partial filling technique was developed for flavin-containing monooxygenase, form 3 (FMO3). The in-line enzymatic reaction was performed in 100 mM phosphate reaction buffer (pH 7.4) whereas 150 mM phosphate buffer (pH 3.3) was used as a background electrolyte. A long plug of cofactor NADPH dissolved in reaction buffer was hydrodynamically injected into a fused-silica capillary, followed by enzyme and substrate solution. The reaction was initiated at 37 degrees C in the thermostated part of the cartridge by the application of 9 kV for 0.9 min. The voltage was turned off to increase the product amount (zero-potential amplification) and again turned on at a constant voltage of 10 kV to elute all the components. Direct detection was performed at 191 nm. The developed electrophoretically mediated microanalysis method was applied for the kinetics study of FMO3 using clozapine as a substrate probe. A Michaelis-Menten constant (K(m)) of 410.3 microM was estimated from the corrected peak area of the product, clozapine N-oxide. The calculated value of the maximum reaction velocity (V(max)) was found to be 1.86 nmol/nmol enzyme/min. The acquired FMO3 kinetic parameters are in accordance with the published literature data.     

Screening of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors in natural extracts by CE with electrophoretically mediated microanalysis technique

An electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA) method for screening acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors in natural extracts is described. In this method, solutions of AChE and the mixture of the substrate and the natural extract were successively injected into the capillary, and mixed electrophoretically by applying a voltage for a short time. Afterwards the voltage was reapplied to separate the product from the unreacted substrate and the natural extract. The measured peak area of the product at UV 230 nm represents the enzyme activity. Since the extract is mixed with the substrate, there is no need to separate the components before testing the inhibition. The inhibitory activity of the natural extract as a whole can be easily found if the peak area of the product is reduced. This makes the present method suitable for screening inhibitors in complex mixtures, such as natural extracts. Compared to the commonly used spectrometric method for screening of AChE inhibitors, the major advantage of the present method is the elimination of Ellman reagent, which is essential for the spectrometric method. This not only simplifies the experimental procedure but also minimizes false-positive results. Moreover, it is an obvious advantage of combining the separation power with the on-column enzyme assay for further investigating which compound(s) is/are responsible for the inhibition. The method was validated using a commercially available AChE inhibitor tacrine and a small chemical library containing four AChE inhibitors and 32 natural extracts. Inhibitors in natural extracts were identified with the present method.     

Study of enzymatic reaction by electrophoretically mediated microanalysis in a partially filled capillary with indirect or direct detection

Electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA), in combination with a partial filling technique and indirect or direct detection, is described for the study of enzymes reacting with the high mobility inorganic or organic anions as substrates or products. Part of the capillary is filled with a buffer optimized for the enzymatic reaction, the rest of the capillary with the background electrolyte being optimal for the separation of substrates and products. With haloalkane dehalogenase, chosen as a model enzyme, the enzymatic reaction was performed in a 20 mM glycine buffer (pH 8.6). Because of the wide substrate specificity of this enzyme, utilizing chlorinated as well as brominated substrates and producing either nonabsorbing chloride or absorbing bromide ions, two different background electrolytes and detection approaches were adopted. A 10 mM chromate-0.1 mM cetyltrimethylammonium bromide background electrolyte (pH 9.2) was used in combination with indirect detection and 20 mM beta-alanine-hydrochloric acid (pH 3.5) in combination with direct detection. The Michaelis constant (K(m)) of haloalkane dehalogenase for 1-bromobutane was determined. The K(m) values 0.59 mM estimated by means of indirect detection method and 0.17 mM by means of direct detection method were comparable with the value 0.13 mM estimated previously by gas chromatography.     

Kinetic study of gamma-glutamyltransferase activity by electrophoretically mediated microanalysis combined with micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

The use of capillary electrophoresis for the determination of gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) activity with gamma-glutamyl-p-nitroanilide (Glu-p-NA) as a substrate was investigated. The reaction velocity was quantified spectrophotometrically by the corrected peak area of the product p-nitroaniline (pNA) at 380 nm. Micelles composed of sodium deoxycholic acid were used in the background electrolyte in order to obtain a baseline separation between the substrate and the product. The presence of the micelles did not influence the enzymatic reaction. The electrophoretic system was used, not only for the separation and quantitation of the different reaction compounds but also for the in-capillary mixing of the enzyme and substrate plugs. This methodology is known as electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA). With the developed in-capillary activity assay an average Michaelis constant (K(M)) for GGT was calculated to be 2.09 mM (RSD = 7.3%, n = 3), a value consistent with previously reported values.     

Determination of the kinetic parameters of rhodanese by electrophoretically mediated microanalysis in a partially filled capillary

Electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA) was applied for the study of kinetic parameters of the bisubstrate enzymatic reaction of rhodanese. The Michaelis constants (K(m)) for both substrates and the effect of temperature on rhodanese reaction were evaluated by means of the combination of the EMMA methodology with a partial filling technique. In this setup, the part of the capillary is filled with the buffer best for the enzymatic reaction whereas, the rest of the capillary is filled with the background electrolyte optimal for separation of substrates and products. The enzymatic reaction was performed in 25 mM N-(2-hydroxymethyl)piperazine-2'-(2-ethanesulfonic acid) (HEPES) buffer (pH 8.5) while the low pH background electrolyte 100 mM beta-alanine-HCl (pH 3.5) was used for separation of substrates and products that are the inorganic anions. The estimated value of K(m) for thiosulfate of 1.30 x 10(-2) M was consistent with previously published values; the K(m) for cyanide of 7.6 x 10(-3) M was determined for the first time. In addition, the type of kinetic mechanism of enzymatic reaction was also elucidated. The finding of the double displacement (ping-pong) mechanism is in accordance with previous literature data. Also, the experimentally determined temperature optimum of the rhodanese-catalyzed reaction around 20-25 degrees C agreed with literature values.     

Fully automated electrophoretically mediated microanalysis for CYP1A1 activity monitoring optimized by multivariate approach

In this study, a fully automated incapillary system was developed to monitor the activity of CYP1A1 (Cytochrome P450, family 1, subfamily A, polypeptide 1) in physiological conditions. Ethoxycoumarin, the selected substrate, undergoes an inline bioreaction in the presence of CYP1A1 supersomes and Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate reduced as cofactor, giving rise to hydroxycoumarin, the product that was assayed. The optimization of the experimental conditions was supported by the application of a design of experiment, providing a better understanding of electrophoretic mixing parameters that influence the metabolic reactions. The results obtained in optimal conditions were compared not only to those achieved after offline metabolization but also with liver microsomes. Finally, inhibition studies were conducted showing an important decrease of hydroxycoumarin formation using apigenin as CYP1A1 potent inhibitor. This study demonstrates the usefulness of our inline system for the fully automated in vitro metabolism studies and the screening of new CYP1A1 inhibitors.     

Screening of aromatase inhibitors in traditional Chinese medicines by electrophoretically mediated microanalysis in a partially filled capillary

An electrophoretically mediated microanalysis method with partial filling technique was developed for screening aromatase inhibitors in traditional Chinese medicine. The in‐capillary enzymatic reaction was performed in 20 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.4), and sodium phosphate buffer (20 mM, pH 8.0) was used as a background electrolyte. A long plug of coenzyme reduced β‐nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide 2′‐phosphate hydrate dissolved in the reaction buffer was hydrodynamically injected into a fused silica capillary followed by the injection of reaction buffer, enzyme, and substrate solution. The reaction was initiated with a voltage of 5 kV applied to the capillary for 40 s. The voltage was turned off for 20 min to increase the product amount and again turned on at a constant voltage of 20 kV to separate all the components. Direct detection was performed at 260 nm. The enzyme activity was directly assayed by measuring the peak area of the produced β‐nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate and the decreased peak area indicated the aromatase inhibition. Using the Lineweaver–Burk equation, the Michaelis–Menten constant was calculated to be 50 ± 4.5 nM. The method was applied to the screening of aromatase inhibitors from 15 natural products. Seven compounds were found to have potent AR inhibitory activity.     

Fast evaluation of enantioselective drug metabolism by electrophoretically mediated microanalysis: Application to fluoxetine metabolism by CYP2D6

In this work, a capillary electrophoretic methodology for the enantioselective in vitro evaluation of drugs metabolism is applied to the evaluation of fluoxetine (FLX) metabolism by cytochrome 2D6 (CYP2D6). This methodology comprises the in‐capillary enzymatic reaction and the chiral separation of FLX and its major metabolite, norfluoxetine enantiomers employing highly sulfated β‐CD and the partial filling technique. The methodology employed in this work is a fast way to obtain a first approach of the enantioselective in vitro metabolism of racemic drugs, with the additional advantage of an extremely low consumption of enzymes, CDs and all the reagents involved in the process. Michaelis–Menten kinetic parameters (K_m and V_max) for the metabolism of FLX enantiomers by CYP2D6 have been estimated by nonlinear fitting of experimental data to the Michaelis–Menten equation. K_m values have been found to be 30 ± 3 μM for S‐FLX and 39 ± 5 μM for R‐FLX. V_max estimations were 28.6 ± 1.2 and 34 ± 2 pmol·min^?1·(pmol CYP)^?1 for S‐ and R‐FLX, respectively. Similar results were obtained using a single enantiomer (R‐FLX), indicating that the use of the racemate is a good option for obtaining enantioselective estimations. The results obtained show a slight enantioselectivity in favor of R‐FLX.     

Michaelis-Menten analysis of bovine plasma amine oxidase by capillary electrophoresis using electrophoretically mediated microanalysis in a partially filled capillary

A method for determining bovine plasma amine oxidase (PAO; EC 1.4.3.6) activity with benzylamine (Bz) as substrate is described. Electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA) combined with micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) was used to perform an on-capillary enzymatic reaction and to separate the generated benzaldehyde from the other reaction products. The capillary was only partially filled with the separation solution, since the enzyme was unstable in the presence of the applied surfactant. The initial reaction velocity of the enzyme-catalyzed reaction was estimated from the peak area of the enzyme product, benzaldehyde. An amplification step was introduced by means of an on-capillary incubation of 15 min, in order to accumulate enough reaction product to detect spectrophotometrically at 254 nm. This set-up resulted in a fully automated assay, which can be carried out in less then 35 min. Using the Lineweaver-Burk equation, an average Michaelis constant (K(M)) for PAO was calculated to be 0.74 mM +/- 0.05 mM, which is consistent with previously reported values.