Paul D. Grossman

A semiempirical model for the electrophoretic mobilities of peptides in free-solution capillary electrophoresis

In this study an attempt is made to explore the effect of a peptides size, charge, and hydrophobicity on its electrophoretic mobility (mu) as measured by free-solution capillary electrophoresis with the aim of developing a semiempirical model which incorporates these effects. The effects of peptide size (which is measured by the number of amino acids in the polypeptide chain (n] and charge on mu are independently determined by experiment in a single solvent system and combined to give the relationship (formula; see text) where the constant 5.23 X 10(-4) is postulated to depend on the solvent system used. The form of Eq. [A.1] was confirmed, and the values of the constants 5.23 X 10(-4) and 2.47 X 10(-5) were determined, by measuring the electrophoretic mobilities of 40 peptides varying in size from 3 to 39 amino acids and varying in charge from 0.33 to 14.0. Furthermore, the effect of noncharged neutral amino acids on mobility was investigated and shown to be present, but only as a minor perturbation on the effects of size and charge.

Effect of buffer pH and peptide composition on the selectivity of peptide separations by capillary zone electrophoresis

A series of 10 synthetic peptides containing varying degrees of charge and hydrophobicity was used to study the effects of peptide composition and buffer pH on the selectivity of separations by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). A simple model is used to explain the effect of buffer pH on the separation. It was found that pH is an important parameter affecting the selectivity of CZE separations. Furthermore, it is shown that the selectivity of the separation is such that peptides differing in neutral amino acid composition can be resolved, and that even differences in a peptides amino acid sequence can be detected. A protease digest of beta-lactoglobulin A is shown as a practical example of a separation of a complex peptide mixture.

Electrophoretic separation of DNA sequencing extension products using low-viscosity entangled polymer networks

Abstract A low-viscosity (ca. 150 cP) polymer solution is used to resolve DNA sequencing fragments up to 580 bases long using the capillary electrophoresis format. Separation performance is compared qualitatively and quantitatively to that of a cross-linked polyacrylamide sequencing slab gel. Both the resolution and length-of-read are essentially equivalent, while the capillary separation is approximately 10 times faster than the slab gel analysis. In addition, separation selectivity and efficiency are examined individually.

Quantitative analysis of DNA-sequencing electrophoresis

At the heart of the DNA-sequencing process is a remarkably selective electrophoretic separation of up to 1000 oligonucleotide fragments, each differing in size by only a single nucleotide unit. A quantitative analysis of this separation is performed in terms of both selectivity and efficiency. It is shown that both the Ogston sieving and reptation migration mechanisms are operative. It is demonstrated that, under the conditions used in traditional sequencing electrophoresis, Joule heating does not significantly contribute to band broadening, and that diffusion is the primary contributor to plate height. An analytic expression is derived relating the peak width for each fragment to its molecular size. Calculations are presented showing that, when longer sequences are required, the maximum electrical field strength will be limited by the influence of biased reptation on the separation selectivity. Finally, it is shown that, when short sequences are required, the electrical field strength is limited by the ability to dissipate Joule heat, and that in these cases a tube format will be approximately 50% faster than a slab having a thickness equivalent to the tube diameter.