A novel probe for chemiluminescent image detection of proteins in two-dimensional gel electrophoresis

The development of simple and sensitive small-molecule fluorescent probes for the detection of serum proteins after native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

In this paper, a simple and sensitive small-molecule fluorescent probe, 2,5-dihydroxy-4'-dimethylaminochalcone (DHDMAC), was designed and synthesized for the detection of human serum proteins via hydrophobic interactions after polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). This probe produced lower fluorescence emission in the absence of proteins, and the emission intensity was significantly increased after the interaction with serum proteins. To demonstrate the imaging performance of this probe as a fluorescent dye, a series of experiments was conducted that included sensitivity comparison and 2D-PAGE. The results indicated that the sensitivity of DHDMAC staining is comparable to that of the most widely used fluorescent dye, SYPRO Ruby, and more protein spots (including thyroxine-binding globulin, angiotensinogen, afamin, zinc-α-2-glycoprotein and α-1-antichymotrypsin) were detected after 2D-PAGE. Therefore, DHDMAC is a good protein reporter due to its fast staining procedure, low detection limits and high resolution.

Development of sensitive metalloporphyrin probes for chemiluminescent imaging detection of serum proteins

The development of metalloporphyrin- (ferric protoporphyrin IX chloride (FePP), cobalt (III) protoporphyrin IX chloride, copper (II) protoporphyrin IX) enhanced chemiluminescent (CL) imaging detection of serum proteins after PAGE is described in this article. The detection is based on the catalytic activity of metalloporphyrins, especially FePP, in the CL reaction of the luminol-H2O2 system. Some relatively low abundant proteins such as hemopexin (Hpx) and complement C4 are sensitively detected by FePP-enhanced CL imaging. Other proteins such as haptoglobin, apolipoprotein A-1, complement C3, and alpha-1-antitrypsin are also detected and identified by MS and MS/MS techniques. Detection limit of Hpx is as low as 20 ng, without the need of expensive antibodies or tedious immunoassay procedures. The mechanism of the proposed method is discussed employing standard proteins. The application to the analysis of different protein patterns in healthy people and in Thalassemia patients is being investigated.

Novel application of carbon nanotubes for improving resolution in detecting human serum proteins with native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

This paper describes a novel application of carbon nanotubes for improving the resolution of a native PAGE in the detection of human serum proteins. Carbon nanotubes were functionalized and introduced into the gel of native PAGE system, and the electropherogram showed sharp, clear bands. Furthermore, the separation of some most important proteins was improved, and the established method could be applied for the detection of sera from patients with liver diseases.