Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Biochemistry, 1992. / Cover title: Novel approaches to protein purification and analysis: counter-current electrophoretic filtering: spectral enhancement. Spine title: Protein purification and analysis. Includes bibliographical references.

Laboratory test results are important in making decisions regarding a patient's diagnosis and response to treatment. These tests often measure the biomarkers found in biological fluids such blood, urine, and saliva. Immunoassay is one type of laboratory test used to measure the level of biomarkers using specific antibodies. Microfluidics offer several advantages such as speed, small sample volume requirement, portability, integration, and automation. These advantages are motivating to develop microfluidic platforms of conventional laboratory tests. I have fabricated polymer microfluidic devices and developed immunoassays on-chip for potential cancer markers. Silicon template devices were fabricated using standard photolithographic techniques. The template design was transferred to a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) piece by hot embossing and subsequently bonded to another PMMA piece with holes for reservoirs. I used these devices to perform microchip immunoaffinity electrophoresis to detect purified recombinant thymidine kinase 1 (TK1). Buffer with 1% methylcellulose acted as a dynamic coating that minimized nonspecific adsorption of protein and as sieving matrix that enabled separation of free antibody from antibody-TK1 complexes. Using this technique, I was able to detect TK1 concentration >80 nM and obtained separation results within 1 minute using a 5 mm effective separation length. Detection of endogenous TK1 in serum is difficult because TK1 is present at the pM range. I compared three different depletion methods to eliminate high abundance immunoglobulin and human serum albumin. Cibacron blue columns depleted abundant protein but also nonspecifically bound TK1. I found that ammonium sulfate precipitation and IgG/albumin immunoaffinity columns effectively depleted high abundance proteins. TK1 was salted out of the serum with saturated ammonium sulfate and still maintained activity. To integrate affinity columns in microfluidic devices, I have developed a fast and easy strategy for initial optimization of monolith affinity columns using bulk polymerization of multiple monolith solutions. The morphology, surface area, and porosity, were qualitatively assessed using scanning electron microscopy. This method decreased the time, effort, and resources compared to in situ optimization of monoliths in microfluidic devices. This strategy could be used when designing novel formulations of monolith columns. I have also integrated poly(ethylene glycol dimethacrylate-glycidyl methacrylate) monolith affinity columns in polymer microfluidic devices to demonstrate the feasibility of extracting human interleukin 8 (IL8), a cancer biomarker, from saliva. Initial results have shown that the affinity column (~3 mm) was successfully integrated into the devices without prior surface modification. Furthermore, anti-IL8 was immobilized on the surface of the monolith. Electrochromatograms showed that 1 ng/mL of IL8 can be detected when in buffer while 10 ng/mL was detected when IL8 was spiked in saliva. Overall, these findings can be used to further develop immunoassays in microfluidic platforms, especially for analyzing biological fluids.

Biomarkers present a non-invasive means of detecting cancer because they can be obtained from body fluids. They can also be used for prognosis and assessing response to treatment. To limit interferences it is essential to pretreat biological samples before analysis. Sample preparation methods include extraction of analyte from an unsuitable matrix, purification, concentration or dilution and labeling. The many advantages offered by microfluidics include portability, speed, automation and integration. Because of the difficulties encountered in integrating this step in microfluidic devices most sample preparation methods are often carried out off-chip. In the fabrication of micro-total analysis systems it is important that all steps be integrated in a single platform. To fabricate polymeric microdevices, I prepared templates from silicon wafers by the process of photolithography. The design on the template was transferred to a polymer piece by hot embossing, and a complete device was formed by bonding the imprinted piece with a cover plate. I prepared affinity columns in these devices and used them for protein extraction. The affinity monolith was prepared from reactive monomers to facilitate immobilization of antibodies. Extraction and concentration of biomarkers on this column showed specificity to the target molecule. This shows that biomarkers could be extracted, purified and concentrated with the use of microfluidic affinity columns.I prepared negatively charged ion-permeable membranes in poly(methyl methacrylate) microchips by in situ polymerization just beyond the injection intersection. Cancer marker proteins were electrophoretically concentrated at the intersection by exclusion from this membrane on the basis of both size and charge, prior to microchip capillary electrophoresis. I optimized separation conditions to achieve baseline separation of the proteins. Band broadening and peak tailing were limited by controlling the preconcentration time. Under my optimized conditions a 40-fold enrichment of bovine serum albumin was achieved with 4 min of preconcentration while >10-fold enrichment was obtained for cancer biomarker proteins with just 1 min of preconcentration. I have also demonstrated that the processes of sample enrichment, on-chip fluorescence labeling and purification could be automated in a single voltage-driven platform. This required the preparation of a reversed-phase monolithic column, polymerized from butyl methacrylate monomers, in cyclic olefin copolymer microdevices. Samples enriched through solid phase extraction were labeled on the column, and much of the unreacted dye was rinsed off before elution. The retention and elution characteristics of fluorophores, amino acids and proteins on these columns were investigated. A linear relationship between eluted peak areas and protein concentration demonstrated that this technique could be used to quantify on-chip labeled samples. This approach could also be used to simultaneously concentrate, label and separate multiple proteins.

Thesis (PhD (Chemistry and Polymer Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / In this thesis the main capillary electrodriven chromatographic techniques (i.e. Capillary Electrochromatography CEC, Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography MEKC and Microemulsion Electrokinetic Chromatography MEEKC) were compared in terms of column manufacturing, fundamental chromatographic performance, and some applications were developed. The first stage of this thesis aimed at developing improved packed and open tubular CEC columns. For the manufacturing of packed CEC columns, the frit-burning step proved of critical importance, together with the slow build-up of the packed bed. The making of open tubular columns is a relatively simple, "one pot" sol-gel reaction taking place in mild conditions. The nature of the gel and the resulting selectivity of the column could easily be changed by changing the precursors. In a second stage of this thesis the packed and open tubular CEC columns were evaluated chromatographically and compared with the results obtained by MEKC and MEEKC. All electrodriven separation techniques showed high efficiencies. The selectivity proved easier to tune with sol-gel chemistry for the making of open tubular columns. Resolution is acceptable for packed CEC, MEKC and MEEKC. For peak capacity, CEC has the advantage of a practically non-limited elution time, while MEKC and MEEKC suffer of the drawback of the existence of an elution window which is limited in time by the elution of the micelles. Some applications were developed in this study on open tubular CEC columns and for the packed CEC columns. Various sugars derivatized with 9- aminopyrene-1,4,6-trisulfonic acid (APTS) could be separated with open tubular CEC, using an octyl, amino or cyano stationary phase. Open tubular columns containing α, β and γ cyclodextrins attached to the stationary phase were developed. This approach proved promising for the separation of positional isomers. A method was developed for the analyses of a mixture of carbamates and for several steroids with packed column CEC directly coupled with MS.

Capillary electrochromatography (CEC) is a rapidly developing liquid chromatographic technique in which electroosmotic flow (EOF) is used to propel mobile phase through the chromatographic column. The use of EOF results in reduced band dispersion when compared with pressurised flow, but narrow capillaries are required to avoid dispersion due to heating that arises from the required application of high electrical potentials. Measurement of UV absorbance in these narrow capillaries is therefore relatively insensitive, demanding improved detection methods. This work presents an alternative strategy that is based on the combination of ion trap accumulation with time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Electrospray is most often used to transfer analytes from solution to the gas phase, concomitant with ionisation, when interfacing CEC to mass spectrometry. The small volumetric flow rates encountered in CEC, however, raise the possibility of other types of interface being effective. The work presented here describes the development of a novel interface in which a pulsed IR laser is used to vaporise chromatographic eluent, followed by ionisation using a pulsed UV laser. Vaporisation and ionisation both occur within the ion trap to remove the possibility of transmission losses. Ionisation laser wavelength is varied to impart a degree of selectivity. The presence of vaporised solvent and analyte ions inside the trap offers the possibility of performing ion-molecule chemistry. In developing this instrument, the electrochromatographic column was separated from the interface by an electrically grounded junction and a transfer capillary. To preserve chromatographic efficiency, the fluid dynamics of this junction between the column and the transfer capillary were investigated both computationally and experimentally. Simulations of the fluid dynamics of the junction are presented. In order to test the interface without the intermittent, chromatographic, delivery of analyte, a continuous leak inlet was employed. The performance of the instrument was evaluated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons because they are important environmental pollutants and because they are amenable to laser ionisation at 266 nm. Expressed as a number of theoretical plates per metre, an average chromatographic efficiency of 95,000 was obtained with a test mixture that consisted of acenaphthene, biphenyl, fluorene, naphthalene and phenanthrene. Furthermore, using the leak inlet, naphthalene was detected as a 100 nM solution in acetonitrile.

Micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) and capillary electrochromatography (CEC) are two of the major capillary electrophoresis (CE) modes that have been interfaced to mass spectrometry (MS) for sensitive and selective analysis of chiral compounds. This research combines these two modes and expands their applications in chiral CE analysis. Chapter 1 is a review of amino acid based molecular micelles used in MEKC-MS for enantioselective analysis over the past five years. In this chapter, a typical MEKC-MS experiment setup as well as detailed standard operating procedure in synthesis of molecular micelles and running a typical MEKC-MS experiment using the molecular micelles is discussed. Chapter 2 described a multivariate MEKC-MS optimization for the simultaneous analysis of two negatively charged model chiral compounds in negative ion mode with molecular micelles. In this chapter, a central composite design (CCD) is used to first construct a series of experiments to optimize all the important MEKC-MS parameters. Next, response surface methodology (RSM) was used to analyze the interactions between the factors, picking up the best separation and detection conditions, predicting the result of the chiral separation/MS detection, and finally running the actual experiment and comparing the chromatographic results with the predicted parameters. Chapter 3 demonstrates a similar multivariate MEKC-MS optimization for analysis of a positively charged model chiral compound in a positive ion mode. The same CCD and RSM methods were used to optimize the separations and MS sensitivity. Chapter 4 describes a chiral analysis of four neutral benzoin derivatives (hydrobenzoin, benzoin, benzoin methyl ether, and benzoin ethyl ether) using MEKC coupled to atmospheric pressure photo-ionization mass spectrometry (APPI-MS). The same multivariate experimental design strategy was used to optimize the MEKC as well as APPI-MS parameters. Simultaneous chiral separation of all four benzoin derivatives was achieved with high detection sensitivity compared to UV-detection. Chapter 5 introduces a novel one-pot synthesis scheme for an acryloyl-terminated, carbamate-linked surfactant-bound monolith with leucine head group and different chain lengths. The method promises to open up the discovery of new amino acid based polymeric monoliths for chiral separations and enhanced chemoselectivity for simultaneous chiral separations and enhanced detection in CEC and CEC-MS. In Chapter 6, five amide-linked surfactant-bound monoliths with different chain lengths and head groups (leucine, valine, and phenylalanine) were synthesized and characterized. Enantioseparation of several test compounds was achieved by CEC using the monolithic columns. One of the chiral surfactant, sodium 11-acrylamidoundecanoyl-L-leucinate (SAAUL), was polymerized in aqueous solution under 60Co radiation to form molecular micelle poly-SAAUL. MEKC experiments were carried out with the poly-SAAUL molecular micelle to separate ten cationic chiral compounds. The result was compared with the CEC separation using the AAUL monolithic column. This study is the first comparison of chiral CEC and MEKC with the same surfactant monomer, which has the capability of forming both chiral stationary phase for CEC and chiral pseudophase for MEKC.

Cover title: Novel approaches to protein purification and analysis: counter-current electrophoretic filtering: spectral enhancement / Spine title: Protein purification and analysis / Includes bibliographical references / 145 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Summary: New inventions are described in the areas of electrophoresis and spectroscopy / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Biochemistry, 1992

Orientador: Carla Beatriz Grespan Bottoli / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Química / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-19T12:28:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Aguiar_ValeskaSoares_M.pdf: 8050447 bytes, checksum: b6132fb136ec04b91b3bdb6e10fbeaf4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: A Eletrocromatografia Capilar (CEC) é uma técnica de separação que combina a seletividade cromatográfica da Cromatografia Líquida de Alta Eficiência (HPLC) com a alta eficiência da Eletroforese Capilar (CE). A coluna capilar usada na separação é preenchida com uma fase estacionária, que pode ser do tipo particulada ou monolítica. Neste trabalho, monolitos poliméricos orgânicos foram preparados por polimerização in situ a partir dos monômeros octadecilmetacrilato (precursor e seletor hidrofóbico), etilenodimetacrilato (agente de entrecruzamento) e ácido 2-acriloilamido-2- metilpropanossulfóxido (monômero ionizável), além de diferentes tipos de solventes porogênicos, como álcool isoamílico, amílico, cicloexanol e 1,4- butanodiol, na presença e na ausência de água. Na primeira etapa do trabalho, variaram-se a natureza e a proporção entre os solventes porogênicos e, na segunda, o mesmo ocorreu com a proporção entre o conjunto de monômeros e de solventes porogênicos. As fases estacionárias foram caracterizadas por técnicas físicas como a microscopia eletrônica de varredura e a porosimetria; e as colunas moldadas com o material monolítico foram avaliadas pela técnica de CEC. As colunas apresentaram eficiência na faixa de 3000 a 50000 pratos m. A análise das isotermas de adsorção e dessorção de nitrogênio e das curvas de distribuição de poros permitiu afirmar que o material monolítico sintetizado é essencialmente micro e mesoporoso. Os macroporos para fluxo de fase móvel foram nitidamente observados em imagens de microscopia eletrônica de varredura. Assim, as fases monolíticas apresentaram três tipos de poros: micro, meso e macroporos. Na segunda parte do trabalho, avaliou-se a repetibilidade de preparo das fases monolíticas e notou-se grande falta de repetibilidade em termos de eficiência de separação. As fases monolíticas apresentaram alto caráter apolar e seletividade metilênica adequada para separação de analitos apolares e aromáticos, como alquilbenzenos, alquilparabenos e hidrocarbonetos policíclicos aromáticos / Abstract: Capillary Electrochromatography (CEC) is a separation technique that matches the chromatographic selectivity of High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with the high efficiency of Capillary Electrophoresis (CE). The capillary column used in the separation is filled with a stationary phase, which can be particulate or monolithic. In this work, organic polymeric monoliths were prepared through in situ polymerization from the monomers octadecyl methacrylate (precursor and hydrophobic selector), ethylene dimethacrylate (cross-linking agent) and 2-acryloylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (ionizable component), using different types of porogenic solvents, such as isoamyl alcohol, amyl alcohol, cyclohexanol and 1,4-butanediol, in the presence or absence of water. In the first step, the nature and proportion between the porogenic solvents were varied and, in the second, the same occurred with the proportion between the set of monomers and porogenic solvents. The stationary phases were characterized by physical techniques such as scanning electron microscopy and porosimetry; and the columns prepared with the monolithic material were evaluated through the CEC technique. The columns presented efficiencies in the range of 3000 to 50000 plates m. Analysis of the nitrogen adsorption and desorption isotherms and the pore distribution curves enable affirming that the synthesized monolithic material is essentially micro- and mesoporous. The macropores for the flow of the mobile phase were clearly observed in images of scanning electron microscopy. So, the monolithic phases have three types of pores: micro-, meso- and macropores. In the second part of this work, the repeatability of synthesis of the monolithic phases was evaluated and a lack of repeatability related to separation efficiency was noted. The monolithic phases had high apolar character and adequate methylenic selectivity for separation of apolar and aromatic analytes, such as alkylbenzenes, alkylparabens and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons / Mestrado / Quimica Analitica / Mestre em Química

Ce manuscrit est consacré à la synthèse par procédé sol-gel et à la caractérisation de matériaux monolithiques de silice hybrides pour les techniques séparatives miniaturisées : nano-chromatographie en phase liquide (nano-CPL), électrochromatographie capillaire (ECC) et microsystèmes séparatifs. La partie bibliographique situe les axes de développement récents des techniques séparatives : l’augmentation de l’efficacité par unité de temps, l’augmentation de la capacité de pics et la miniaturisation de ces techniques. Après un descriptif détaillé de l’évolution des techniques séparatives lors de ces dernières années, une attention particulière est portée sur les phases stationnaires monolithiques à base de silice. Enfin, une étude approfondie des différentes fonctionnalisations de ces monolithes de silice met en évidence l’intérêt porté aux monolithes de silice hybrides en termes de simplification du protocole de synthèse. La partie expérimentale est ainsi axée sur le développement et la caractérisation de ces monolithes de silice hybrides dédiés à la chromatographie à polarités de phases inversée. Dans un premier temps, la synthèse de monolithes de silice hybrides C3 illustre la possibilité de synthétiser par voie sol-gel (100% aqueux) un monolithe de silice fonctionnalisé et performant en une seule étape (« one pot »). Dans un second temps, ce type de procédé est employé et optimisé afin de synthétiser des capillaires monolithiques de silice hybrides C8 présentant des performances équivalentes à leurs homologues C8 préparés en deux étapes (synthèse puis greffage) et comparables à des colonnes particulaires (d particules 5 μm) / This manuscript is dedicated to the synthesis (via sol-gel process) and caracterization of hybrid monolithic silica for miniaturized separation techniques : nano-liquid chromatography (nano-LC), capillary electrochromatography (CEC) and microchips. The bibliography part deals with the recent axis of development of these separatives techniques : increase of efficiency per time unit, increase of peak capacity and miniaturisation of these techniques. After an overview of this evolution, the manuscript is focused on the silica monolithic stationnary phases. Finally, a detailed study on the different kinds of protocol fonctionnalization of these silica monoliths highlights the advantage of simplifying the synthesis using a single step protocol (« one pot »). The experimental part is also focused on this kind of single step protocol so as to synthesize hybrid silica monoliths dedicated to the reversed phase mode in chromatography. First, the synthesis of hybrid C3 silica monoliths shows the ability to synthesize a functionnalized silica monolith via a single step sol gel process (« one pot »). Then, this kind of process is used and optimized in order to synthesize a hybrid C8 silica monolithic into capillaries. These stationary phases allowed reaching performances similar to those synthesized in two steps (sol-gel process and grafting) and to the particulate columns (5 μm).

Capillary electrochromatography (CEC) is a major capillary electrophoresis (CE) mode that have been interfaced to mass spectrometry (MS) for sensitive and selective analysis of chiral compounds. This research expands CEC applications in cancer biomarker and chiral CE analysis. Chapter 1 is a review of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS), and capillary electrophoresis mass spectrometry (CE/MS) for analysis of metabolites in prostate cancer diagnostics and therapies. In this chapter, a literature survey was performed within the databases PubMed, 4 Caplus/Webline and Web of Sciences. A total 17 studies reporting on various analytical platforms for metabolite identification in prostate cancer research, which often include case-control comparison were identified and reviewed. Chapter 2 described the analysis of metabolite biomarkers in prostate cancer tissues by capillary electrochromatography mass spectrometry. In this chapter, a capillary CEC–MS/MS method was developed for the simultaneous determination and separation of eight proofs of concept (POC) metabolites (betaine, malate, proline, N-acetyl aspartate, N-acetylglucosamine, uracil, xanthine, and alanine) as potential prostate cancer diagnostic markers. A polymeric monolith column with a hydrophilic crosslinker and strong anion-exchange mixed-mode has been fabricated by an in situ copolymerization of vinyl benzyl trimethylammonium chloride, and bisphenol A glycerolate dimethacrylate (BisGMA) in the presence of methanol and dodecyl alcohol as porogens and AIBN as initiator. After CEC separation, samples were analyzed by a triple–quadrupole mass spectrometer operated in positive ion mode. After optimization, the data showed that the CEC-MS/MS method using monolithic column achieved a much better chromatographic selectivity compared to coated columns and increased sensitivity than bare fused silica column The effect of mobile phase pH, ACN percentage and additive were studies. Under the optimum mobile phase conditions, this method was carried out to separate and detect eight metabolites in the biopsy sample. The LOD for the metabolites is between 50nM-100nM. This method has successfully used to examine patients’ prostate cancer with an accuracy of 95%. Chapter 3 demonstrates Insights into Chiral Recognition Mechanisms in CEC using linear salvation energy relationship. By varying the linker (amide and carbamate), head group (alanine, leucine, and valine) and chain length (C8, C10 and C12) of the amino acid bound surfactants; monolithic column was made to ultimately understand the factors governing chiral stationary solid phase. Through the comparison of system parameters, we can see that surfactant head group, linker and chain length affect the separation of achiral and chiral compounds. Also, with the same type surfactant, data was presented to show how the trend of LSER parameters and how it affects separation between in CEC. This study showed the predictive capability of LSER to understand the aforementioned intermolecular processes controlling retention and by doing so, be able to quantitatively predict the experimental conditions to achieve an acceptable chiral separation.