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The effect of adding alkali salts to protein samples for capillary electrophoretic (CE) analysis of intact proteins was studied. A high degree of peak stacking, even for large proteins, was found to occur when alkali salts were added to the sample. The addition of salt to the protein sample promotes a strong improvement in the peak efficiency of individual proteins giving up to 2.1x 10(6)apparent plates/m. The concentration of salt required in the sample to reach optimal peak efficiency show dependency on both the molecular weight and molar concentration of the protein. However, adding salt will, at a sufficiently high concentration, cause a mixture of proteins to co-migrate to one very sharp peak. The observed sample stacking effect was obtained with a number of different surface modified silica capillaries indicating a general phenomenon and not surface coating specific.

Hyperlink robust biocompatible solid-phase microextraction (SPME) devices were prepared using continuous bed (monolithic) restricted-access media (RAM) as the SPME capillary insert. The RAM-based SPME approach was able to simultaneously separate proteins from a biological sample, while directly extracting the active components of caffeine, paracetamol and acetylsalicylic acid from the drug NeoCitramonum. The devices were interfaced with a CZE system and fully automated analysis for sample preconcentration, desorption, separation and quantification of analytes was evaluated. Comparative study of in-line coupled SPME-CZE using RAM and RP capillary inserts was carried out. Using an SPME (RAM) insert, the calculated caffeine, paracetamol and acetylsalicylic acid LODs in a bovine plasma sample were 0.3, 0.8 and 1.9 ng/mL, respectively.

Capillaries (25- and 50-microm inner diameter) coated with a double-alkyl-chain cationic surfactant N,N-didodecyl-N,N-dimethylammonium bromide (DDAB) were used for the separation of four basic standard proteins in buffers of pH 4 at various ionic strengths. The choice of buffer is critical for the analytical performance. Ammonium ions must be avoided in the buffer used in the non-covalent coating procedure owing to competition with the surfactant. Phosphate buffer gave a better separation performance than some volatile buffers; the reason seems to be a complex formation between the proteins and dihydrogenphosphate ions, which decreases tendencies for adsorption to the capillary surface. The DDAB coating was easy to produce and stable enough to permit, without recoating, consecutive separations of the proteins for up to 100 min with good precision in migration times and peak areas. A strong electroosmotic flow gives rapid separations, which is of special importance when commercial instruments are used, since the choice of the length of the capillary is restricted.

Capillaries (25microm I.D.) treated with the double-alkyl-chain cationic surfactant N,N-didodecyl-N, N-dimethylammonium bromide (DDAB) in an improved coating procedure were used for separation of four basic proteins in volatile buffers (ammonium acetate and ammonium hydroxyacetate) as well as in a non-volatile buffer (sodium phosphate) at pH 4. The DDAB coating was stable enough to, without recoating, permit consecutive separations of the proteins up to 9h with good precisions in peak areas (RSD=1.1%) and migration times and with high apparent efficiencies (over 1 million theoretical plates/m) in the presence of a strong anodic electroosmosis. Adsorption of the proteins onto the capillary surface, which in previous studies was found to give a certain contribution to zone broadening, was eliminated with the new modified coating method. Complex formation between the proteins and phosphate buffer was studied and confirmed, and it is proposed that slow protein-buffer component interactions are the main contributions to zone broadening in protein separations by CE.

Distortion of the starting zone upon its electrophoretic migration toward the detection window gives rise to both symmetrical zones caused by diffusion, sedimentation in the horizontal section of the capillary and the curvature of the capillary, and asymmetrical zones having their origin in Joule heating, sedimentation in the vertical section of the capillary, pH and conductivity differences between the sample zone and the surrounding buffer, solute adsorption onto the capillary wall, and association-dissociation of complexes between the analyte and a buffer constituent or between analytes. Interestingly and importantly a theoretical study shows that moderate pH and conductivity differences as well as adsorption and all of the above interactions when they are characterized by a fast on/off kinetics do not increase the zone broadening (or only slightly), because the sharpening of one boundary of the zone is about the same as the broadening of the other boundary. In addition the peak symmetry caused by a conductivity difference is in most experiments counteracted by a pH difference. The experimentally determined plate numbers in the absence of electroosmosis exceeded one million per meter in some experiments (Part II). These plate numbers are among the highest reported [Z. Zhao, A. Malik, M.L. Lee, Anal. Chem. 65 (1993) 2747; M. Gilges, K. Kleemiss, G. Schomburg, Anal. Chem. 66 (1994) 2038; H. Wan, M. Ohman, L.G. Blomberg, J. Chromatogr. A 924 (2001) 591 (plate numbers determined in the presence of electroosmosis may be higher, although the width of the zone in the capillary may be larger) [p. 680 in S. Hjertén, Electrophoresis 11 (1990) 665]). Capillary free zone electrophoresis is perhaps the only separation method, which, under optimum conditions, gives a plate number not far from the theoretical limit. A prerequisite for this high performance is that the polyacrylamide-coated capillary is washed with 2 M HCl between the runs and stored in water over night (Part II). The difference between the experimentally determined total variance and the sum of the calculated variances originating from the width of the starting zone, longitudinal diffusion, Joule heating, sedimentation in the vertical section of the capillary, curvature of the capillary (i.e., the sum of all other variances) was in our most successful experiments about 28% of the variance of diffusion. The zone broadening, 2sigma, caused by diffusion was estimated at 0.77 mm. The total zone width (2sigma) calculated from the experimentally determined plate number was as small as 1 mm when the migration distance was 40 cm. Accordingly, the only efficient way to reduce drastically the total zone width is to decrease the analysis time and, thereby, the diffusional broadening. An important finding was that the variance originating from the loops of the capillary is not always negligible in high-performance runs. Therefore, one should employ straight capillaries and avoid CE apparatus with cartridges that require a strong curvature of the capillary, common in most commercial instruments. Mathematical formulas have been derived for the sedimentation of the solute zone, the enrichment factor, and the migration time in experiments where the solute is dissolved in a dilute running buffer. This zone sharpening method gave very narrow starting zones (0.04-0.4 mm). However, upon high dilution of the buffer the enrichment becomes so strong that part of the sample zone probably sediments out of the capillary; the almost inevitable change in pH may decrease the mobility of the proteins and, thus, cause the enrichment factor to become still lower than expected. Diffusion of the protein in the very narrow starting zone (located close to the tip of the capillary) and sometimes the thermal expansion of the buffer in the capillary contributes to additional loss of protein in the enrichment step. In some buffers, the interaction between the protein and the buffer constituents is so slow that the peaks become broad. Therefore, different types of buffers should be tested when high resolution is required. The relation sigma2 (the variance of the interaction between a protein and the buffer constituents) = constant x u (the mobility) seems to be valid for all proteins in the applied sample, at least when they have similar molecular masses. To facilitate the understanding of the progress of a free zone electrophoresis experiment, we have discussed in simple terms how the concentrations of the background electrolytes become rearranged during a run and why the difference between the mobilities of the proteins and the mobilities of the background electrolyte determines whether a peak exhibits fronting or tailing. A theoretical analysis of zone broadening in capillary zone electrophoresis, chromatography, and electrochromatography indicates that electrochromatography in homogeneous gels might be the only chromatographic technique which can compete in performance with free electrophoresis. Using an equation, valid not only for electrophoresis, but also for chromatography and centrifugation, the mobility of a concentration boundary has been calculated for the first time and was, as expected, low. Equations based on the Kohlrausch regulating function do not permit such calculations. Another regulating function (the H function) and some of its characteristics are briefly discussed. The theoretical discussions in this paper and the experimental studies in Part II show that high-performance electrophoresis deserves its prefix when the runs are designed to give minimum zone broadening. Some guidelines are given to facilitate this optimization. The plate numbers are so high that the resolution cannot be increased by more than 30% even if they approach the theoretically maximum values.

The separation of acidic and basic model proteins was studied in capillary free zone electrophoresis in a polyacrylamide-coated, electroosmosis-free capillary at pH below their isoelectric points (pI) using various buffers at pH 2.7-4.8 with UV detection at 200 nm. The separation performance was significantly dependent on the coating quality, which may even differ within the same batch of capillaries. In addition, a washing step with 2 M HCl and the storage of the capillary in distilled water was essential for the performance. For high efficiency and resolution the choice of buffer constituents was extremely important which is discussed in quantitative terms in Part I. The most promising buffers were ammonium acetate and ammonium hydroxyacetate at pH 4 (ionic strengths: 0.12 and 0.15 M, respectively) with plate numbers up to 1,700,000 plates/m, corresponding to a zone width (2sigma) of only 1 mm in a capillary with 40 cm effective length, when the injected samples were dissolved in a 10-fold diluted background electrolyte (BGE), a zone even narrower than those obtained in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the characteristic feature of which is remarkably thin zones. In the experiment giving this plate number, the calculated variance for longitudinal diffusion was larger than all the other calculated variances (those for the width of the starting zone, Joule heating, sedimentation and the curvature of the capillary). Interestingly, the effect of capillary curvature was significant. In addition, the sum of all other imaginable variances (corresponding to various types of slow on/off kinetics and hyper-sharp peaks) was in the most successful experiments only 28-50% of the variance for longitudinal diffusion. One hundred- to two hundred-fold dilution of the BGE improved the detection limits and provided high precision in both migration times and peak areas with ammonium hydroxyacetate and ammonium acetate as background electrolytes. However, that high dilution increased the variance 140-400% for these buffers, respectively, at least partly due to conductivity or pH differences between the sample and buffer zones (hyper-sharp peaks). Sedimentation of the enriched sample, a factor that has not previously been treated theoretically or experimentally, was probably another reason for our finding that peak heights did not increase when the sample was dissolved in a buffer diluted more than 200-fold, although pH changes and in some cases thermal expansion in the capillary also may contribute. Loss of protein may occur at the ionic strength 0.01 and lower due to precipitation. Limits of detection were in the range 4-17 pmol of proteins with ammonium acetate as BGE. No indication of denaturation of proteins at pH 4 was observed. However, the separation performance at pH 3 was not satisfactory and loss of proteins was observed, possibly indicating such problems. The protein mobilities decreased unexpectedly from pH 4 to 3--a further indication of conformation changes.

Restricted-access reversed-phase non-particulate (continuous bed or monolithic) stationary phases of different hydrophobicity synthesized in 100 microm i.d. fused silica capillaries have been evaluated. A specific property of restricted-access media (RAM) is that they interact with small analytes and exclude big molecules, e.g. proteins, from access to the active sites and adsorption on the surface. This dual property facilitates direct injection of biological fluids for drug or drug-metabolite analysis. Different RAM and RAM-precursor capillary columns were tested to assess the influence of chromatographic bed morphology on loadability. Inverse size-exclusion chromatography was used for investigation of pore structural properties of the capillary-format continuous beds. The data obtained were used to discuss the mechanism of separation of the biological samples using capillary columns and to propose a model for the topochemical architecture of the RAM investigated. Different morphology of the non-particulate reversed-phase precursors resulted in two types of RAM material shielded with hydrophilic polymer, classified as homogeneous or heterogeneous topochemistry stationary phases. Capillary columns were applied for chromatography of biological fluids. High resolution was obtained, without the need for column switching, when capillary columns operated in gradient conditions. Extensive evaluation of the chromatographic properties (hydrophobicity, efficiency, separation impedance, and loadability) of the non-particulate reversed-phase materials was performed before and after shielding with hydrophilic polymer to generate restricted-access properties. Minor changes of hydrophobicity, efficiency, or separation impedance were observed after the shielding.

The capillary electrophoretic enantioseparation of rac-propranolol using cellobiohydrolase Tr Cel7A as selector was optimized by an unbiased statistical experimental design. A set of pre-experiments was performed in order to identify critical experimental factors. In the definitive chemometric design pH, ranging from 5 to 7, ionic strength ranging between 0.01 and 0.02 and organic solvent additive in concentration from 1 to 19% v/v were studied. The response surface plot revealed a separation optimum in the pH interval studied. When all parameters were taken into account, a background electrolyte consisting of 0.016 M bistris-acetate buffer with pH 6.5 and 17% v/v acetonitrile gave the optimum separation. The significance of the statistical design was confirmed by the generally good agreement obtained between predicted response and actual experimental data.

The capillary electrochromatographic separation performance of hydrophobic amines and a related quaternary ammonium compound on continuous beds based on polymers of acrylamide has been studied. The chromatographic bed is polymerized in situ and the character of the polymers with regard to hydrophobicity and charge has been systematically changed by regulating its content of isopropyl and sulfonate ligands, respectively. The best performance was obtained for columns with a molar ratio of 1:80 for the sulfonate and isopropyl groups, and resulted in efficiencies up to 200000 plates per meter. The effects on retention, resolution and elution order by ionic strength, pH, and content of acetonitrile in the mobile phase have been investigated. The quaternary ammonium compound was always the least retained irrespective of pH. By increasing the pH, a reversal of the migration order between the tertiary and secondary amine was obtained. The results indicate a complex migration/retention mechanism where ion-exchange, adsorption and electrophoretic mobilities play a role. The concentration limit of detection could be lowered from 1.3 microg/mL to 50 pg/mL by using a high content of 2-propanol (96%) in the sample compared to dissolving the analytes in the mobile phase.

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) methods based on the conventional and complete filling techniques for determination of the enantiomeric purity of S-ropivacaine are described. The complete filling technique is a separation method which can be used instead of the partial filling technique in order to reduce the total analysis time, when the chiral selector solution does not absorb UV light. In the complete filling technique the total length of the capillary is filled with the chiral selector solution, prior to application of the analyte. During the run both ends of the capillary are connected to the background electrolyte, i.e. without chiral agent. An interlaboratory study was performed to validate the method. The limit of detection and quantification for R-ropivacaine were found to be about 0.6 and 1.6 microg/ml, respectively, corresponding to 0. 1 and 0.25% enantiomeric purity of S-ropivacaine. Good performances were demonstrated for the repeatability and linearity. The consumption of the chiral selector was about 160 times lower with the complete filling technique compared with the conventional CE technique.

Capillary electrophoresis was combined with highly sensitive microelectrospray-tandem mass spectrometry to simultaneously detect classical small molecule neurotransmitters as well as neuropeptides from discrete regions of the marmoset brain. A mixture of four classical neurotransmitters (glutamate, gamma-aminobutyric acid, acetylcholine, dopamine) and four neuropeptides (neurotensin, methionine-enkephalin, leucine-enkephalin and substance P 1-7) was studied to optimize the capillary electrophoresis conditions for separation, injection volume, and analysis time. Gamma-aminopropyltriethoxysilane-coated capillaries and acetic acid electrolytes were used to avoid interactions between the sample and the capillary surface and to obtain a high anodic electroosmotic flow, which resulted in a short analysis time. Detection was performed using tandem mass spectrometry in the selected reaction monitoring mode using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. Samples were dissolved in ammonium acetate to achieve a transient-isotachophoretic concentration step at the beginning of the separation and to make it possible to inject larger sample volumes, up to 140 nL. Small amounts of tissue from specific regions of the marmoset monkey brain were pretreated using solid-phase extraction as a clean-up and concentrating step. In the striatum we could detect endogenous glutamate, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), acetylcholine and dopamine, as well as the neuropeptides methionine-enkephalin and substance P 1-7 in the same analysis, using only 58 mm3 of brain tissue.

A new approach for simultaneous chiral and achiral separations by capillary zone electrophoresis is described. Two adjacent selector plugs, consisting of Tween 20 as an achiral and methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (CD) as a chiral selector, are employed and four related local anesthetics are used as model compounds. The principles of the partial filling technique, whereby the capillary is filled with the chiral selector solution followed by the micellar solution at different plug lengths and concentrations, prior to application of the solutes, was employed. During the run both capillary ends were dipped in a simple buffer, i.e., one without additives. The two separation media worked independently without any interaction. Separation of the solutes and their enantiomers was regulated by adjusting both the concentration and plug length (PL) of the micellar solution in the capillary, employing methyl beta-CD as chiral selector either at 38 or 76 mM. The solutes were separated on the basis of their affinity towards the micellar phase before they reached the methyl-beta-CD plug for enantioseparation. In the absence of the micellar plug, the enantiomers of prilocaine overlapped those of bupivacaine. The solutes and their enantiomers were completely separated by employing two adjacent plugs consisting of 100 mM Tween 20 solution (PL approximately 10 cm) and methyl-beta-CD solution at either 38 or 76 mM (PL approximately 30 cm).

The principles for the determination of conditional association constants of enantiomers by capillary zone electrophoresis employing a partial filling technique (PFT) using methyl-beta-cyclodextrin as chiral selector is presented. Orciprenaline was used as a model compound. Partial filling is a separation technique, where different lengths of the chiral selector solution are introduced into the capillary to a final zone length shorter than the effective length of the capillary, prior to application of the solutes. Lengthening of the separation zone results in improving enantioresolution in addition to decreasing electrophoretic mobility of the enantiomers, because of longer interaction time between the solute and chiral selector. The degree of the reduction in electromobility depends on the affinity of the solute to the chiral selector, i.e. strength of the complex formed between the solute and cyclodextrin. The decrease in the electrophoretic mobility with increasing length of the separation zone is used for determination of the association constant. The association constants of the enantiomers of orciprenaline and the chiral selector were evaluated from the slope of the plot, observed electrophoretic mobility versus the ratio between the length of the separation zone and the effective length of the capillary. It was found that the association constants were independent of the chiral selector concentration. The mean values were 110 M(-1) and 160 M(-1) for respective enantiomer. Constants obtained by a conventional CE technique were in good agreement with those from the PFT experiments. The highest enantioselectivityy was obtained when about 50% of the solute was distributed to the selector phase.

Capillary zone electrophoresis with indirect UV-detection was used to separate mixtures containing both positively and negatively charged species. In order to understand the dependence of detector response patterns on the changes in compositions of the background electrolytes and the charge of marker ions (UV-absorbing ions), the separations were performed in two different systems. In a three-ion system (analyte ion, coion and counterion) a marker ion was the major ionic component of a buffer solution and in a two-coion or counterion system the marker ion was used as an additive. In the three-ion system the response profile of an analyte was in good agreement with the mathematical treatment based on the Kohlrausch regulation function. In the two-coion or counterion system the response patterns were more complicated; however, the experimental results agree well with data obtained from a computer simulation program. Peak directions of the analytes were not only determined by their relative charge to the marker ion, but were also associated with their relative mobilities to the buffer coion and the marker ion. The analytes with higher effective mobilities compared to the marker ion were detected as positive peaks and the ones with lower effective mobilities as negative peaks. Similarly to the three-ion system, the detector response of an analyte was stronger by applying a marker coion compared to a counterion. An interesting result was obtained in the separation of a mixture of quaternary ammonium ions and sugars by using a cationic marker ion. The highest and most symmetrical peak was not a cation, but raffinose anion, which appeared most closely to the system peak. The observation suggests that the electromigration dispersion in its zone was eliminated by migrating close to the electroosmosis. A system peak with the mobility corresponding to the electroosmotic flow was obtained in both systems, and an additional system peak with a mobility close to that the marker ion was present in the systems using marker ions as additives.

The enantiomers of five racemic anaesthetic drugs were resolved with cyclodextrins using capillary zone electrophoresis. Parameters which affected the chiral resolution, such as type and concentration of cyclodextrin, temperature, and addition of organic modifier were investigated. The results show that the enantiomeric discrimination of the solutes is influenced by the structural shape of the solute molecules, separation temperature, and type of cyclodextrin. It was found that alpha-cyclodextrin was the best enantioselector for resolution of prilocaine and ketamine, while the enantiomers of mepivacaine, ropivacaine, and bupivacaine were resolved with beta-cyclodextrin and/or modified beta-cyclodextrins, i.e., methyl- and 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin, as chiral selectors. The length of the alkyl chain on the amino group of the drug molecule had a strong effect on the enantioresolution of mepivacaine, ropivacaine, and bupivacaine. Baseline separation of racemic ketamine was achieved with alpha- and methyl-beta-cyclodextrin at 15 degrees C. Addition of 5 M urea to the running buffer containing beta-cyclodextrin at high concentrations resulted in the enantioseparation of prilocaine, mepivacaine, and ketamine. Enantioresolution was improved upon the addition of 10% methanol to the buffer containing urea and beta-cyclodextrin. Generally, the complex formed between the S-enantiomers and modified beta-cyclodextrins was stronger than the corresponding R-forms. An exception was prilocaine where the R-form gave a more stable complex both with alpha- and beta-cyclodextrin.

Due to the small path length and low injection volume the concentration limit of detection is comparatively poor in capillary electrophoresis (CZE) with UV detection. This limitation can be overcome by means of preconcentration methods and/or improved detection techniques. This paper describes a strategy where isotachophoresis (ITP) is used to preconcentrate a new cholinesterase inhibitor (NXX-066) prior to a capillary zone electrophoresis analysis in the same single capillary. A hydrodynamic backpressure is used to prevent the analyte from migrating out of the capillary. Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) is used to further increase the detectability. The total gain in detectability with ITP-CZE-LIF compared to CZE-UV was at least 5500-fold, and it is possible to determine NXX-066 at the 1 nM level. The ITP-CZE method was further evaluated for two beta-blockers; the mean coefficient of variation of the peak areas was 3.4% and the linearity of the calibration plots was satisfying.

A rapid and sensitive method for the analysis of sugars was developed by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) with indirect UV detection. A mixture of nine mono- and oligosaccharides was separated in about 20 minutes on a fused silica capillary in a highly alkaline (pH > 12) background electrolyte (BGE). With tryptophan as the marker detected at 280 nm the femtomole level detection of sugars was possible. The system was optimized by studies on the buffer pH, the marker concentration, as well as the inner diameter of the capillary. The indirect detection of sugars was also performed with a cationic marker, N-benzylcinchonidium chloride (BCDC). However, the detection sensitivity was much lower in comparison to the tryptophan marker system.