Development of an open-tubular trypsin reactor for on-line digestion of proteins

A study was initiated to construct a micro-reactor for protein digestion based on trypsin-coated fused-silica capillaries. Initially, surface plasmon resonance was used both for optimization of the surface chemistry applied in the preparation and for monitoring the amount of enzyme that was immobilized. The highest amount of trypsin was immobilized on dextran-coated SPR surfaces which allowed the covalent coupling of 11 ng mm⁻² trypsin. Fused-silica capillaries were modified in a similar manner and the resulting open-tubular trypsin-reactors having a pH optimum of pH 8.5, display a high activity when operated at 37 °C and are stable for at least two weeks when used continuously. Trypsin auto-digestion fragments, sample carry-over, and loss of signal due to adsorption of the protein were not observed. On-line digestion without prior protein denaturation, followed by micro-LC separation and photodiode array detection, was tested with horse-heart cytochrome C and horse skeletal-muscle myoglobin. The complete digestion of 20 pmol μL⁻¹ horse cytochrome C was observed when the average residence time of the protein sample in a 140 cm ×50 μm capillary immobilized enzyme reactor (IMER) was 165 s. Mass spectrometric identification of the injected protein on the basis of the tryptic peptides proved possible. Protein digestion was favorable with respect to reaction time and fragments formed when compared with other on-line and off-line procedures. These results and the easy preparation of this micro-reactor provide possibilities for miniaturized enzyme-reactors for on-line peptide mapping and inhibitor screening.     

Optimization of peptide and protein separation with a monolithic reversed-phase column and application to arsenic-binding studies

A separation method for a mixture of eight sulfur-containing peptides and proteins characterized by a wide molar mass (1-18.4 kDa) and pI range (4.5-10.7) was developed onto a monolithic phenyl phase. Based on the first optimization steps that revealed an increase of the acetonitrile content to 45 vol.% as sufficient for the elution of all biomolecules and the addition of the ion pairing reagent trichloroacetic acid (TCA) as preferable over the eluent additives formic acid or ammonium acetate buffer, the critical variables TCA concentration, gradient time, and eluent flow rate were optimized using a Box-Behnken experimental design. To achieve optimum values for separation factors of all peak pairs, a TCA content of 0.025% (m/v), a gradient time of 10 min, and a flow rate of 3.5 mL min(-1) were selected. Arsenic binding studies were undertaken under conditions optimized with respect to the crucial separation factor of the nonapeptides vasotocin (Vtc) and vasopressin (Vpr) in a shortened gradient time of 7.5 min. A complete separation of phenylarsenic-substituted and unmodified forms of these peptides allowed the calculation of both consumptions and apparent equilibrium constants K from HPLC-UV peak areas. The nonapeptide consumptions by the reaction with phenylarsine oxide (PAO) increased from 7% up to 100% in dependence on the molar ratio of the reaction components. Due to an enhanced UV absorption of the phenylarsenic-substituted biomolecules, the calculation of apparent equilibrium constants led to increasing K values with rising PAO molarities from 9.6×10(5) to 1.2×10(8) in case of Vtc and from 2.2×10(6) to 1.4×10(9) in case of Vpr. For α-lactalbumin, a consumption of 59.2±6.1% by the reaction with molar excesses of PAO varying from 1.4 to 21 can be derived from the chromatograms. The quantitative evaluation of the reaction of the small protein aprotinin with PAO was hindered by a pronounced peak broadening that occurred after reduction of the disulfide bridges.     

Pepsin immobilized in dextran-modified fused-silica capillaries for on-line protein digestion and peptide mapping

On-line digestion of proteins under acidic conditions was studied using micro-reactors consisting of dextran-modified fused-silica capillaries with covalently immobilized pepsin. The proteins used in this study differed in molecular weight, isoelectric point and sample composition. The injected protein samples were completely digested in 3 min and the digest was analyzed with micro-high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The different proteins present in the samples could be identified with a Mascot database search on the basis of auto-MS/MS data. It proved also to be possible to digest and analyze protein mixtures with a sequence coverage of 55% and 97% for the haemoglobin β- and α-chain, respectively, and 35-55% for the various casein variants. Protease auto-digestion, sample carry-over and loss of signal due to adsorption of the injected proteins were not observed. The backpressure of the reactor is low which makes coupling to systems such as Surface Plasmon Resonance biosensors, which do not tolerate too high pressure, possible. The reactor was stable for at least 40 days when used continuously.     

Computer-assisted prediction of small peptide sequencing in reversed-phase liquid chromatography

Summary A computer-assisted prediction system for small peptide sequencing has been constructed based on the retention prediction approach in reversed-phase liquid chromatography. The system has the basic function to predict retention of small peptides at any chromatographic conditions and this function can be useful for the prediction of sequencing. The outline of the system construction and the performance is discussed.     

Preparative scale reversed-phase HPLC method for simultaneous separation of carotenoids and carotenoid esters

Summary A method is described for the preparative HPLC of carotenoids and carotenoid esters using a self-packing axially-compressed column. The reversed-phase system used employs an RP-18 stationary phase and a mobile phase consisting of a mixture of petroleum spirit, acetonitrile, methanol and tetrahydrofuran. The method is demonstrated for paprika fruit, rose hips and marigold flowers.     

Two-dimensional separation system by on-line hyphenation of capillary isoelectric focusing with pressurized capillary electrochromatography for peptide and protein mapping

A novel on-line 2-D system was developed for peptide and protein mapping. The system combines capillary IEF (cIEF) with pressurized CEC (pCEC) using a micro-injection valve as the interface. Sample fractions, which were focused and separated in the first-dimension cIEF based on their differences in pIs, were electrically mobilized and further successively resolved by their differences in size, hydrophobicity, and electrophoretic mobility in the second-dimension pCEC. In the presented system, the valve interface was free of the external electric field in two dimensions for the purpose of stabilization, safety, and facilitating manipulation. In the first dimension, cIEF separation was executed by a one-step method to simplify the operation procedure. Moreover, a home-made electrical decoupler was introduced to isolate the micro-injection valve from the cIEF electric field. For the second dimension, taking advantage of the combination of hydrodynamic flow with EOF, reversed-phase pCEC not only offers on-column refocusing the effluent fractions, but also brings enhanced separation resolution and elution speed. Separation effectiveness of this 2-D system was demonstrated by the analysis of tryptic digest of BSA and human red blood cell lysate. A theoretical peak capacity of approximately 24,000 has been achieved for BSA digest, which proves its promising potential for the application in proteomics.     

L-N-(3,5-Dimethoxybenzoyl)isoleucine chiral stationary phase for separation of enantiomers by HPLC

Summary L-N-(3,5-dimethoxyoxybenzoyl)isoleucine, ionically bonded to γ-aminopropyl silica, has been tested as a chiral stationary phase for the separation of racemates by HPLC. The phase shows good selectivity towards different types of racemates and in particular for those having an electron-poor aromatic group in their molecule. The separation of benzoin racemate can be achieved on the developed chiral phase with an α value of 1.10.     

Direct separation of the enantiomers of cetirizine and related compounds by reversed-phase chiral HPLC

Summary Direct separations of the enantiomers of cetirizine and related compounds have been achieved by reversed-phase HPLC on the Chiralcel OD-R, a polysaccharide-derived chiral stationary phase; the mobile phase was usually perchlorate solution supplemented with acetonitrile. Resolution of the enantiomers of cetirizine and related compounds was good. The effect of the acetonitrile content of the mobile phase was investigated, and the effect of the structure of the chiral compounds on their behavior on the Chiralcel OD-R column is discussed.     

Vinyl functionalized silica hybrid monolith-based trypsin microreactor for on line digestion and separation via thiol-ene "click" strategy

A novel thiol-ene "click" strategy for the preparation of monolithic trypsin microreactor was proposed. The hybrid organic-inorganic monolithic capillary column with ene-functionality was fabricated by sol-gel process using tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) and γ-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (γ-MAPS) as precursors. The disulfide bonds of trypsin were reduced to form free thiol groups. Then the trypsin containing free thiol groups was attached on the γ-MAPS hybrid monolithic column with ene-functionality via thiol-ene click chemistry to form a trypsin microreactor. The activity of the trypsin microreactor was characterized by detecting the substrate (Nα-p-tosyl-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride, TAME) and the product (Nα-p-tosyl-L-arginine, TA) with on-line capillary zone electrophoresis. After investigating various synthesizing conditions, it was found that the microreactor with poly(N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide) as spacer can deliver the highest activity, yielding a rapid reaction rate. After repeatedly sampling and analyzing for 100 times, the monolithic trypsin microreactor still remained 87.5% of its initial activity. It was demonstrated that thiol-ene "click" strategy for the construction of enzyme microreactor is a promising method for the highly selective immobilization of proteins under mild conditions, especially enzymes with free thiol radicals.     

Multilinear gradient elution optimization in reversed-phase liquid chromatography based on logarithmic retention models: application to separation of a set of purines, pyrimidines and nucleosides

The analytical solutions of the fundamental equation of the multilinear gradient elution are derived in two cases, when the dependence of the logarithm of the solute retention (lnk) upon the volume fraction of organic modifier (φ) is a three-parameter logarithmic expression, and when a simple linear relationship between lnk and lnφ is adopted. The derived theoretical expressions for retention times under multilinear gradient conditions are embodied to simple algorithms for fitting gradient data and especially for resolution optimization. Their performance was examined by using a mixture of 16 model compounds chosen among purines, pyrimidine and nucleosides in eluting systems modified by acetonitrile. It was found that the accuracy of the predicted gradient retention times is very satisfactory even if the simple logarithmic expression for the retention behavior of solutes, i.e. the linear dependence of lnk upon lnφ, is used.     

Application of reversed-phase and ion-pair HPLC for investigation of nucleotide metabolism in erythrocytes,reticulocytes and tumour cells

Summary The determination of nucleotides, nucleosides, and nucleobases was carried out in cells of different metabolic complexity: in mature and immature red blood cells, in Ehrlich ascites tumour cells from different proliferation stages, and in other tumour cells. The maturation of reticulocytes to erythrocytes is accompanied by loss of organelles and energy-requiring processes as well as the switch from aerobic to anaerobic ATP production. The profile of purine nucleotides, nucleosides, bases, and pyridine dinucleotides, by reversed-phae HPLC, shows large concentration changes during the maturation of red blood cells. The concentrations of purine mono and triphosphates are two to four times greater in reticulocytes in comparison with erythrocytes; the difference in the concentrations of nucleosides and nucleobases between reticulocytes and erythrocytes is even greater. Application of ion-pair HPLC showed that the Ehrlich ascites cells loose major portions of purine mono-, diand triphosphates between the 7th and 11th day after inoculation. Fast growing solid sarcoma tumours of rats (MV 202 Ner) contain higher amounts of nucleotides than slowly growing tumours of identical cell type.     

Preparation and retention characteristics of different phenyl phases for reversed-phase liquid chromatography

Summary Three different phenyl phases were prepared. The amount of organic moiety bound on silica support was determined from thermogravimetric curves of the modified silica gel. The specific surface areas of gels were obtained from nitrogen sorption measurement at –196°C. The effect on separation and selectivity of the different bonded-phenyl functional groups was studied. The selectivity of the phenyl-bonded silica gels was examined and compared with octadecyl (ODS) silica in liquid chromatography. Corresponding to the high surface concentration of functional groups, the capacity factors of solutes, normalized to unit surface area of the adsorbent, k/S_BET were found to decrease in the sequence phenylmethyl>diphenyl>triphenyl. Polar solutes are retained in greater extent on the phenyl phases than on the ODS phase.     

A novel silica-based column packing for reversed-phase HPLC of basic compounds

Summary A novel bonded phase for reversed-phase HPLC was synthesized in two steps. Octylamine was first reacted with β-(3,4-epoxycyclohexyl)ethyltrimethoxysilane (β-ECTS) and then the intermediate product was coupled onto porous silica. The prepared packing was characterized by elemental analysis, solid-state¹³C NMR and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR). Chromatographic evaluations were carried out by using a mixture of organic compounds including acidic, basic and neutral analytes and methanol-water as binary mobile phase. The results showed that the stationary phase has excellent chromatographic properties and is resistant to hydrolysis between pH=2≈8. It can be used efficiently for the separation of basic compounds.     

模板法制备大孔硅胶微球及其在高效液相色谱蛋白质分离中的应用

以弱阳离子交换聚合物微球(WCX)为模板、N-三甲氧基硅基丙基-N,N,N-三甲基氯化铵(TMSPTMA)为结构导向剂、四乙氧基硅烷(TEOS)为硅胶前驱体,在三乙醇胺弱碱催化作用下,水解缩合形成有机聚合物与二氧化硅复合微球,将此复合微球煅烧后得到大孔二氧化硅微球。探索了不同反应条件对二氧化硅微球的形貌、表面结构和分散性的影响;当TMSPTMA、TEOS与三乙醇胺的体积比为1∶2∶2时可以得到孔径在50~150 nm之间、粒径在2μm左右的硅胶微球。对所制备的大孔硅胶微球表面进行C18(十八烷基二甲基氯硅烷)键合修饰,然后将键合的填料装填到50 mm×4.6 mm的色谱柱中,考察了其对常见的几种标准蛋白质和市售大豆分离蛋白质的分离效果,结果显示这种填料在高效液相色谱蛋白质分离中具有一定的潜力。     

Inertness and stability of a maltose-silica for the separation of proteins by HPLC

Summary A stationary phase consisting of maltose on a silica support, designed for the separation of proteins, is described. When maltose is coupled to aminopropylsilica an effective shielding of the silica surface can be obtained. A size exclusion experiment is used to investigate pore structure and the behaviour of proteins. The stability of the surface layer is studied, as influenced by silica pretreatments and cross-linking reactions. Inertness is studied via the denaturation of trypsin in columns of different length at a number of temperatures. An example of a derivatization of the maltose layer is given which demonstrates its use as an interactive separation medium.     

Improved detection of leucovorin in mixed folates and antifolates by reversed-phase liquid chromatography and on-line post-column UV irridiation

Summary An improved, reversed-phase, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with dual UV-fluorescence detection for simultaneous determination of the antifolate methotrexate, the folate leucovorin and their two main metabolites 7-hydroxymethotrexate and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, respectively is presented. The fluorescence intensity of leucovorin could be significantly increased by on-line, post-column irradiation with UV at 254 nm thus lowering the limit of detection for leucovorin to 0.2 ng absolute at a signal-to-noise ratio 31.     

First approach based on direct ultrasonic assisted enzymatic digestion and capillary-high performance liquid chromatography for the peptide mapping of soybean proteins

This work proposes, for the first time, the use of a high intensity ultrasonic probe to accelerate the tryptic digestion of soybean proteins. Different digestion parameters were optimized: protein extracting solution, reduction, and alkylation conditions (time, concentration, and temperature), trypsin:protein ratio, and ultrasonic conditions (sonication amplitude and time). Separation of peptide profiles was carried out by capillary-HPLC. The effect of the variation of chromatographic conditions (elution gradient, column temperature, and injection volume) on peptide separation was also studied using two capillary-HPLC columns with different column diameters and particle sizes. Moreover, samples were focused at the top of the column in order to obtain an increasing sensitivity without loss of efficiency. This method was successfully applied to the profiling of soybean peptides from transgenic and non-transgenic soybeans and from different pigmented beans commercialized as soybeans.