Mobilization of electroosmotic flow markers in capillary zone electrophoresis

UV-absorbing neutral substances are commonly used as markers of mean electroosmotic flow in capillary electrophoresis for their zero electrophoretic mobility in an electric field. However, some of these markers can interact with background electrolyte components and migrate at a different velocity than the electroosmotic flow. Thus, we tested 11 markers primarily varying in their degree of methylation and type of central atom in combination with five background electrolyte cations differing in their ionic radii and surface charge density, measuring the relative electrophoretic mobility using thiourea as a reference marker. Our results from this set of experiments showed some general trends in the mobilization of the markers based on the effects of marker structure and type of background electrolyte cation on the relative electrophoretic mobility. As an example, the effects of an inadequate choice of marker on analyte identification were illustrated in the electrophoretic separation of glucosinolates. Therefore, our findings may help electrophoretists appropriately select electroosmotic flow markers for various electrophoretic systems.     

The application of spline wavelet transform to the determination of electroosmotic mobility in capillary electrophoresis

The rule of current change was studied during capillary electrophoresis (CE) separation process while the conductivity of the sample solution was different from that of the buffer. Using a quadratic spline wavelet of compact support, the wavelet transforms (WTs) of capillary electrophoretic currents were performed. The time corresponding to the maximum of WT coefficients was chosen as the time of current inflection to calculate electroosmotic mobility. The proposed method was suitable for different CE modes, including capillary zone electrophoresis, nonaqueous CE and micellar electrokinetic chromatography. Compared with the neutral marker method, the relative errors of the developed method for the determination of electroosmotic mobility were all below 2.5%.     

Size separation of silica nanospheres by means of capillary zone electrophoresis

The electrophoretic mobility of silica nanospheres was shown to be a function of separation conditions such as pH and phosphate concentration of a carrier electrolyte. The separation selectivity can be controlled by the separation conditions and optimised depending on the sample composition. The effects of pH and phosphate concentration of buffer solutions on the nanosphere electrophoretic mobility are explained using the Overbeek-Booth electrokinetic theory taking into account both electrophoretic retardation and the relaxation effect.     

Analytical potential of enzyme-coated capillary reactors in capillary zone electrophoresis

Enzymes immobilized on the inner surface of an electrophoretic capillary were used to increase sensitivity and resolution in capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). Sensitivity is enhanced by inserting a piece of capillary containing the immobilized enzyme into the main capillary, located before the detector, in order to transform the analyte into a product with a higher absorptivity. This approach was used to determine ethanol. In order to improve resolution, capillary pieces containing immobilized enzymes were inserted at various strategic positions along the electrophoretic capillary. On reaching the enzyme, the analyte was converted into a product with a high electrophoretic mobility, the migration time for which was a function of the position of the enzyme reactor. This approach was applied to the separation and determination of acetaldehyde and pyruvate. Finally, the proposed method was validated with the determination of ethanol, acetaldehyde, and pyruvate in beer and wine samples.     

A sulfonated capillary that gives reproducible migration times for capillary zone electrophoresis and micellar electrokinetic chromatography

To obtain reproducible migration times and rapid analyses of analytes, sulfonate groups were chemically introduced to the inner wall of untreated fused-silica capillary with 2-(4-chlorosulfonylphenyl)ethyltrichlorosilane. The sulfonated capillary showed relatively constant electroosmotic mobility which was greater than that obtained by an untreated fused-silica capillary over the pH range studied (pH 2-9). In both CZE and MEKC, the RSDs of the migration times of analytes with the sulfonated capillary were less than 0.2% which were significantly lower than those obtained with an untreated fused-silica capillary (0.5-3.5%). When BGE were set at pH 7.0 for CZE and MEKC, the analysis times with the sulfonated capillary were about half those obtained with an untreated fused-silica capillary. These results indicate that the sulfonated capillary can provide highly reproducible and rapid analyses in CE.     

The magnitude and reproducibility of the electroosmotic flow in silica capillary tubes

The influence of a number of factors, such as the nature of the buffer, the presence of additives therein, the manufacturing conditions, and the pretreatment of the capillary, on the magnitude and repeatability of the electroosmotic flow (EOF) in silica capillary tubes has been investigated. It was established that the nature of the buffer plays the most significant role in respect of the stability and magnitude of EOF, whereas the conditions used for manufacture and pretreatment of the tubing are less important. The EOF obtained using buffers consisting of tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane and ethylenediamine was more repeatable than that obtained using pure phosphate buffers. Buffer additives such as sodium dodecylsulfate, 1-butanol, sodium salts of 1-pentanesulfonic acid and 1-heptanesulfonic acid, altered the magnitude of the EOF only, not its repeatability.     

A two‐step method for rapid characterization of electroosmotic flows in capillary electrophoresis

The measurement of electroosmotic flow (EOF) is important in a capillary electrophoresis (CE) experiment in terms of performance optimization and stability improvement. Although several methods exist, there are demanding needs to accurately characterize ultra‐low electroosmotic flow rates (EOF rates), such as in coated capillaries used in protein separations. In this work, a new method, called the two‐step method, was developed to accurately and rapidly measure EOF rates in a capillary, especially for measuring the ultra‐low EOF rates in coated capillaries. In this two‐step method, the EOF rates were calculated by measuring the migration time difference of a neutral marker in two consecutive experiments, in which a pressure driven was introduced to accelerate the migration and the DC voltage was reversed to switch the EOF direction. Uncoated capillaries were first characterized by both this two‐step method and a conventional method to confirm the validity of this new method. Then this new method was applied in the study of coated capillaries. Results show that this new method is not only fast in speed, but also better in accuracy.     

A quantitative structure property relationship study of electrophoretic mobility of analytes in capillary zone electrophoresis

A quantitative structure property relationship (QSPR) is proposed to calculate the electrophoretic mobility of analytes in capillary zone electrophoresis. The proposed model employs logarithm of the electrophoretic mobility (ln micro) as dependent variable and partial charge (PQ), surface area (V(2/3)), total energy (TE), heat of formation (DeltaH(f)) and molecular refractivity (MR) as independent variables whose calculated using AM1 (Austin model 1) semi-empirical quantum mechanics method by HyperChem 7.0 software. The general form of the model is: ln micro =K(0)+K(1)PQ+K(2)V(2/3)+K(3)TE+K(4)DeltaH(f)+K(5)MR, where K(0)-K(5) are the model constants computed using a least-square method. The applicability of the model on real mobility data has been studied employing five experimental data sets of beta-blockers, benzoate derivatives, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, sulfonamides and amines in different buffers. The accuracy of the model is assessed using absolute average relative deviation (AARD) and the overall AARD value. The obtained AARD for the sets studied are 1.0 (N=10), 2.1 (N=26), 0.8 (N=11), 0.6 (N=13) and 2.7% (N=18), respectively, and the overall AARD is 1.4%. The model is cross-validated using one leave out technique and the obtained overall AARD is 1.8%. To further investigate on the applicability of the proposed model, the prediction capability of the model is evaluated by employing a minimum number of six experimental data points as training set, and predicting the mobility of other data points using trained models. The obtained overall AARD (for 48 predicted data points) is 5.6%.     

Separation of bacteria by capillary electrophoresis

Differences in the surface charges of bacteria can be exploited for their separation by capillary electrophoresis. Because of their low electrophoretic mobility, the separation is not always easy to perform, especially in the presence of the electroosmotic flow. Elimination of electroosmotic flow by capillary wall modification with γ‐(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate followed by acrylamide bonding permits separation over a distance of 8.5 cm.     

Enhanced separation of seven quinolones by capillary electrophoresis with silica nanoparticles as additive

This paper describes the enhanced separation of lomefloxacin, sparfloxacin, fleroxacin, norfloxacin, ofloxacin, gatifloxacin and pazufloxacin by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) using silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) as running buffer additive. The impact of SiNPs concentration on the resolution and selectivity of separation was investigated and a given value of SiNPs was finally chosen under the optimum conditions. The addition of the SiNPs to the running buffer enabled electroosmotic flow (EOF) decrease and permitted full interaction between SiNPs and analytes. The influence of separation voltage, pH and buffer concentration on the separation in the presence of SiNPs was examined. Interactions between drugs and nanoparticles during the separation are discussed; the determination of interaction constants is also achieved. A good resolution of seven quinolones was obtained within 15 min in a 50 cm effective length fused-silica capillary at a separation voltage of +10 kV in a 12 mM disodium tetraborate-phosphate buffer (pH 9.08) containing 5.2 μg mL⁻¹ SiNPs.     

Investigation of unexpected migration behavior of adenosine in capillary zone electrophoresis

Summary The capillary zone electrophoresis of two common nucleosides, adenosine and inosine, was investigated. Both compounds were resolved in a 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.5. Contrary to expectations, adenosine behaved at this pH— 5 pH units lower than the literature pK_a— as a negative ion, migrating behind mesityloxide (neutral marker) when working in normal polarity mode. To confirm the migration order, peaks were identified from absorption maxima, by high-speed scanning detector. The change in electrophoretic mobility with pH was investigated for the nucleosides, and 10 other background electrolytes were tried to match the separation capabilities of the sodium phosphate buffer. Most inorganic buffers showed comparable separation, while organic, Good-type buffers lacked selectivity.     

Capillary zone electrophoresis of biological substances with surface-modified fused silica capillaries with switchable electroosmotic flow

A surface modification has been developed which yields fused silica capillaries with switchable electroosmotic flow (anodal/cathodal). The capillary surface is a composite material consisting of unreacted silanol groups, a layer of positively charged quaternary ammonium functions, and a hydrophilic layer of long polyether chains. Because of the presence of positively and negatively charged groups, the net charge of the capillary surface can be varied from positive to negative by changing the pH of the running electrolyte, thus enabling manipulation of the magnitude and direction of the electroosmotic flow. The long polyether chains were effective in shielding biomacromolecules from the charged inner surface of the capillary, thus minimizing electrostatic interaction of the solutes with both unreacted silanols and the quaternary ammonium groups which had been introduced. As a consequence, high separation efficiencies were achieved with proteins, nucleotides, and a series of acidic oligosaccharides.     

毛细管区带电泳用于酶微反应器酶解条件的研究

将氨基酰化酶通过戊二醛固定在毛细管内壁,制备毛细管酶微反应器,用毛细管区带电泳对毛细管酶微反应器的酶解产物进行分离,以生成物的峰面积优化底物N-乙酰-DL-蛋氨酸的酶解条件。实验结果表明,在温度37℃的条件下,10μg/mL N-乙酰-DL-蛋氨酸磷酸盐缓冲溶液(pH7.5)以4μL/min的速度通过15 cm长的毛细管酶微反应器,具有良好的酶解效果。利用毛细管酶微反应器对底物N-乙酰-DL-蛋氨酸进行酶解,每天酶解5次,10天后酶活仅下降了8.66%,说明制备的毛细管酶微反应器具有良好的稳定性。     

The effect of electric field strength,buffer type and concentration on separation parameters in capillary zone electrophoresis

Summary Probe solutes were used to investigate the effect of buffer type, concentration and applied voltage on solute mobility, column efficiency and resolution in capillary zone electrophoresis. With low conductivity buffers higher concentrations and/or higher voltages could be used to improve column efficiency and resolution. Doubling the concentration of the buffer doubles the amount of heat generated inside the column while doubling the applied voltage cause a 4-fold increase. Solute migration time is approximately an inverse function of the charge density of the buffer's cation. Analysis time is increased by about 30% if the buffer concentration is doubled while it is cut in half if the applied voltage is doubled. Column efficiency is improved (higher theoretical plate count) with increasing buffer concentration and/or applied voltage as long as the heat generated is efficiently dissipated. The separation factor is directly related to analysis time and, therefore, selectivity improves with increasing buffer concentration but decreases with increasing applied voltage. Hence, resolution is optimized by increasing buffer concentration at a moderate applied voltage.     

Separation of basic proteins by capillary zone electrophoresis with coatings of a copolymer of vinylpyrrolidone and vinylimidazole

Capillary zone electrophoretic (CZE) separation of basic proteins has been achieved with capillary columns modified with copolymers of vinylpyrrolidone (VP) and vinylimidazole (VI). The copolymerization reaction is performed inside the capillary column and involves chemical bonding of the polymer to silica. The electroosmotic flow (EOF) is greatly decreased by this surface modification. The presence of positive charges on the coating surface, due to the cationic property of vinylimidazole at pH below 7, reduces the adsorption of basic proteins onto the silanol groups of the capillary surface. Acidic proteins are irreversibly adsorbed, but rapid separation and good performance reproducibility are obtained with basic proteins. In the case of capillaries modified with VP, the acidic and basic proteins are eluted within 10 min. In this work, we studied the effects of pH and buffer concentration on the magnitude of the EOF, as well as the effect of copolymer composition on the separation efficiency.     

N-methylformamide as a separation medium in capillary electrophoresis

Summary The organic solvent N-methylformamide (NMF) has been used as a separation medium in capillary electrophoresis. The advantageous properties of this compound are its high dielectric constant, high solubilizing power and low conductivity, as well as its amphiprotic character. It was shown that, unlike for most organic solvents, the electroosmotic flow is substantial. It was found to be possible to utilize NMF without added electrolyte. Field strengths exceeding 1000 volts/cm could be employed, while a low current was maintained and it was thus possible to obtain rapid analyses. Also, the properties of NMF allowed the analysis of substances with a low solubility in aqueous media. These features are exemplified by separation of carboxylic acids and pharmaceuticals. Excellent reproducibility of migration and no sign of electrical breakdown were observed, even under high field strength conditions.Presented at the Sixth International Symposium on High Performance Capillary Electrophoresis, Jan. 31–Feb. 9, 1994, San Diego, USA, Poster #P-113.     

Peak broadening in capillary zone electrophoresis with electroosmotic flow: Dependence of plate number and resolution on charge number

Summary Based on the Einstein-Nernst equation, describing the relation between diffusion coefficient and ionic mobility, and expression for the plate height and plate number can be obtained which is independent of the diffusion coefficient. This approach was supported by experimental data, obtained from anionic and cationic solutes. An expression for the electrophoretic resolution is introduced that is also independent on diffusion coefficients. The effect of electro-osmotic flow on the separation of anions and cations based on the expressions derived for the plate number and the resolution is discussed.