Electrochromatography is a chemical separation technique in analytical chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology used to resolve and separate mostly large biomolecules such as proteins. It is a combination of size exclusion chromatography (gel filtration chromatography) and gel electrophoresis. These separation mechanisms operate essentially in superposition along the length of a gel filtration column to which an axial electric field gradient has been added. The molecules are separated by size due to the gel filtration mechanism and by electrophoretic mobility due to the gel electrophoresis mechanism. Additionally there are secondary chromatographic solute retention mechanisms. [1] [2]
Capillary electrochromatography (CEC) is an electrochromatography technique in which the liquid mobile phase is driven through a capillary containing the chromatographic stationary phase by electroosmosis. [3] [4] It is a combination of high-performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis. The capillaries is packed with HPLC stationary phase and a high voltage is applied to achieve separation is achieved by electrophoretic migration of the analyte and differential partitioning in the stationary phase.
In chemical analysis, chromatography is a laboratory technique for the separation of a mixture into its components. The mixture is dissolved in a fluid solvent called the mobile phase, which carries it through a system on which a material called the stationary phase is fixed. Because the different constituents of the mixture tend to have different affinities for the stationary phase and are retained for different lengths of time depending on their interactions with its surface sites, the constituents travel at different apparent velocities in the mobile fluid, causing them to separate. The separation is based on the differential partitioning between the mobile and the stationary phases. Subtle differences in a compound's partition coefficient result in differential retention on the stationary phase and thus affect the separation.
High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), formerly referred to as high-pressure liquid chromatography, is a technique in analytical chemistry used to separate, identify, and quantify each component in a mixture. It relies on pumps to pass a pressurized liquid solvent containing the sample mixture through a column filled with a solid adsorbent material. Each component in the sample interacts slightly differently with the adsorbent material, causing different flow rates for the different components and leading to the separation of the components as they flow out of the column.
Protein purification is a series of processes intended to isolate one or a few proteins from a complex mixture, usually cells, tissues or whole organisms. Protein purification is vital for the specification of the function, structure and interactions of the protein of interest. The purification process may separate the protein and non-protein parts of the mixture, and finally separate the desired protein from all other proteins. Separation of one protein from all others is typically the most laborious aspect of protein purification. Separation steps usually exploit differences in protein size, physico-chemical properties, binding affinity and biological activity. The pure result may be termed protein isolate.
Micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) is a chromatography technique used in analytical chemistry. It is a modification of capillary electrophoresis (CE), extending its functionality to neutral analytes, where the samples are separated by differential partitioning between micelles and a surrounding aqueous buffer solution.
Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a family of electrokinetic separation methods performed in submillimeter diameter capillaries and in micro- and nanofluidic channels. Very often, CE refers to capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE), but other electrophoretic techniques including capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE), capillary isoelectric focusing (CIEF), capillary isotachophoresis and micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) belong also to this class of methods. In CE methods, analytes migrate through electrolyte solutions under the influence of an electric field. Analytes can be separated according to ionic mobility and/or partitioning into an alternate phase via non-covalent interactions. Additionally, analytes may be concentrated or "focused" by means of gradients in conductivity and pH.
Ion chromatography separates ions and polar molecules based on their affinity to the ion exchanger. It works on almost any kind of charged molecule—including large proteins, small nucleotides, and amino acids. However, ion chromatography must be done in conditions that are one unit away from the isoelectric point of a protein.
Mixed-mode chromatography (MMC), or multimodal chromatography, refers to chromatographic methods that utilize more than one form of interaction between the stationary phase and analytes in order to achieve their separation. What is distinct from conventional single-mode chromatography is that the secondary interactions in MMC cannot be too weak, and thus they also contribute to the retention of the solutes.
Micellar liquid chromatography (MLC) is a form of reversed phase liquid chromatography that uses an aqueous micellar solutions as the mobile phase.
Sample preparation for mass spectrometry is used for the optimization of a sample for analysis in a mass spectrometer (MS). Each ionization method has certain factors that must be considered for that method to be successful, such as volume, concentration, sample phase, and composition of the analyte solution. Quite possibly the most important consideration in sample preparation is knowing what phase the sample must be in for analysis to be successful. In some cases the analyte itself must be purified before entering the ion source. In other situations, the matrix, or everything in the solution surrounding the analyte, is the most important factor to consider and adjust. Often, sample preparation itself for mass spectrometry can be avoided by coupling mass spectrometry to a chromatography method, or some other form of separation before entering the mass spectrometer. In some cases, the analyte itself must be adjusted so that analysis is possible, such as in protein mass spectrometry, where usually the protein of interest is cleaved into peptides before analysis, either by in-gel digestion or by proteolysis in solution.
Two-dimensional chromatography is a type of chromatographic technique in which the injected sample is separated by passing through two different separation stages. Two different chromatographic columns are connected in sequence, and the effluent from the first system is transferred onto the second column. Typically the second column has a different separation mechanism, so that bands that are poorly resolved from the first column may be completely separated in the second column. Alternately, the two columns might run at different temperatures. During the second stage of separation the rate at which the separation occurs must be faster than the first stage, since there is still only a single detector. The plane surface is amenable to sequential development in two directions using two different solvents.
Partition chromatography theory and practice was introduced through the work and publications of Archer Martin and Richard Laurence Millington Synge during the 1940s. They would later receive the 1952 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for their invention of partition chromatography".
Capillary electrophoresis–mass spectrometry (CE-MS) is an analytical chemistry technique formed by the combination of the liquid separation process of capillary electrophoresis with mass spectrometry. CE-MS combines advantages of both CE and MS to provide high separation efficiency and molecular mass information in a single analysis. It has high resolving power and sensitivity, requires minimal volume and can analyze at high speed. Ions are typically formed by electrospray ionization, but they can also be formed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization or other ionization techniques. It has applications in basic research in proteomics and quantitative analysis of biomolecules as well as in clinical medicine. Since its introduction in 1987, new developments and applications have made CE-MS a powerful separation and identification technique. Use of CE-MS has increased for protein and peptides analysis and other biomolecules. However, the development of online CE-MS is not without challenges. Understanding of CE, the interface setup, ionization technique and mass detection system is important to tackle problems while coupling capillary electrophoresis to mass spectrometry.
Affinity electrophoresis is a general name for many analytical methods used in biochemistry and biotechnology. Both qualitative and quantitative information may be obtained through affinity electrophoresis. The methods include the so-called electrophoretic mobility shift assay, charge shift electrophoresis and affinity capillary electrophoresis. The methods are based on changes in the electrophoretic pattern of molecules through biospecific interaction or complex formation. The interaction or binding of a molecule, charged or uncharged, will normally change the electrophoretic properties of a molecule. Membrane proteins may be identified by a shift in mobility induced by a charged detergent. Nucleic acids or nucleic acid fragments may be characterized by their affinity to other molecules. The methods have been used for estimation of binding constants, as for instance in lectin affinity electrophoresis or characterization of molecules with specific features like glycan content or ligand binding. For enzymes and other ligand-binding proteins, one-dimensional electrophoresis similar to counter electrophoresis or to "rocket immunoelectrophoresis", affinity electrophoresis may be used as an alternative quantification of the protein. Some of the methods are similar to affinity chromatography by use of immobilized ligands.
Instrumental analysis is a field of analytical chemistry that investigates analytes using scientific instruments.
Countercurrent chromatography is a form of liquid–liquid chromatography that uses a liquid stationary phase that is held in place by inertia of the molecules composing the stationary phase accelerating toward the center of a centrifuge due to centripetal force and is used to separate, identify, and quantify the chemical components of a mixture. In its broadest sense, countercurrent chromatography encompasses a collection of related liquid chromatography techniques that employ two immiscible liquid phases without a solid support. The two liquid phases come in contact with each other as at least one phase is pumped through a column, a hollow tube or a series of chambers connected with channels, which contains both phases. The resulting dynamic mixing and settling action allows the components to be separated by their respective solubilities in the two phases. A wide variety of two-phase solvent systems consisting of at least two immiscible liquids may be employed to provide the proper selectivity for the desired separation.
Capillary electrochromatography (CEC) is a chromatographic technique in which the mobile phase is driven through the chromatographic bed by electroosmosis. Capillary electrochromatography is a combination of two analytical techniques, high-performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis. Capillary electrophoresis aims to separate analytes on the basis of their mass-to-charge ratio by passing a high voltage across ends of a capillary tube, which is filled with the analyte. High-performance liquid chromatography separates analytes by passing them, under high pressure, through a column filled with stationary phase. The interactions between the analytes and the stationary phase and mobile phase lead to the separation of the analytes. In capillary electrochromatography capillaries, packed with HPLC stationary phase, are subjected to a high voltage. Separation is achieved by electrophoretic migration of solutes and differential partitioning.
Milos Vratislav Novotny is an American chemist, currently the Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Director of the Novotny Glycoscience Laboratory and the Institute for Pheromone Research at Indiana University, and also a published author. Milos Novotny received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Brno, Czechoslovakia in 1962. In 1965, Novotny received his Ph.D. at the University of Brno. Novotny also holds honorary doctorates from Uppsala University, Masaryk University and Charles University, and he has been a major figure in analytical separation methods. Novotny was recognized for the development of PAGE Polyacrylamide Gel-filled Capillaries for Capillary Electrophoresis in 1993. In his years of work dedicated to analytical chemistry he has earned a reputation for being especially innovative in the field and has contributed a great deal to several analytical separation methods. Most notably, Milos has worked a great deal with microcolumn separation techniques of liquid chromatography, supercritical fluid chromatography, and capillary electrophoresis. Additionally, he is highly acclaimed for his research in proteomics and glycoanalysis and for identifying the first mammalian pheromones.
James Wallace Jorgenson is an American academic who previously held the position of William Rand Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is best known for his work developing capillary zone electrophoresis, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Chiral analysis refers to the quantification of component enantiomers of racemic drug substances or pharmaceutical compounds. Other synonyms commonly used include enantiomer analysis, enantiomeric analysis, and enantioselective analysis. Chiral analysis includes all analytical procedures focused on the characterization of the properties of chiral drugs. Chiral analysis is usually performed with chiral separation methods where the enantiomers are separated on an analytical scale and simultaneously assayed for each enantiomer.
María del Coral Barbas Arriba is a professor at the Universidad CEU San Pablo who is known for her research on metabolomics and integration of chemical data.