Separation of peptides by capillary electrophoresis

Recent developments in capillary and microchip electroseparations of peptides (2021-mid-2023)

This review article brings a comprehensive survey of developments and applications of high-performance capillary and microchip electromigration methods (zone electrophoresis in a free solution or in sieving media, isotachophoresis, isoelectric focusing, affinity electrophoresis, electrokinetic chromatography, and electrochromatography) for analysis, micropreparation, and physicochemical characterization of peptides in the period from 2021 up to ca. the middle of 2023. Progress in the study of electromigration properties of peptides and various aspects of their analysis, such as sample preparation, adsorption suppression, electroosmotic flow regulation, and detection, are presented. New developments in the particular capillary electromigration methods are demonstrated, and several types of their applications are reported. They cover qualitative and quantitative analysis of synthetic or isolated peptides and determination of peptides in complex biomatrices, peptide profiling of biofluids and tissues, and monitoring of chemical and enzymatic reactions and physicochemical changes of peptides. They include also amino acid and sequence analysis of peptides, peptide mapping of proteins, separation of stereoisomers of peptides, and their chiral analyses. In addition, micropreparative separations and physicochemical characterization of peptides and their interactions with other (bio)molecules by the above CE methods are described.

Peptide mapping of proteins by capillary electromigration methods

This review article provides a wide overview of important developments and applications of capillary electromigration methods in the area of peptide mapping of proteins in the period 1997-mid-2022, including review articles on this topic. It deals with all major aspects of peptide mapping by capillary electromigration methods: i) precleavage sample preparation involving purification, preconcentration, denaturation, reduction and alkylation of protein(s) to be analyzed, ii) generation of peptide fragments by off-line or on-line enzymatic and/or chemical cleavage of protein(s), iii) postcleavage preparation of the generated peptide mixture for capillary electromigration separation, iv) separation of the complex peptide mixtures by one-, two- and multidimensional capillary electromigration methods coupled with mass spectrometry detection, and v) a large application of peptide mapping for variable purposes, such as qualitative analysis of monoclonal antibodies and other protein biopharmaceuticals, monitoring of posttranslational modifications, determination of primary structure and investigation of function of proteins in biochemical and clinical research, characterization of proteins of variable origin as well as for protein and peptide identification in proteomic and peptidomic studies.

Recent developments in capillary and microchip electroseparations of peptides (2015-mid 2017)

The review brings a comprehensive overview of recent developments and applications of high performance capillary and microchip electroseparation methods (zone electrophoresis, isotachophoresis, isoelectric focusing, affinity electrophoresis, electrokinetic chromatography, and electrochromatography) to analysis, microscale isolation, purification, and physicochemical and biochemical characterization of peptides in the years 2015, 2016, and ca. up to the middle of 2017. Advances in the investigation of electromigration properties of peptides and in the methodology of their analysis (sample preseparation, preconcentration and derivatization, adsorption suppression and EOF control, and detection) are described. New developments in particular CE and CEC methods are presented and several types of their applications to peptide analysis are reported: qualitative and quantitative analysis, determination in complex (bio)matrices, monitoring of chemical and enzymatical reactions and physical changes, amino acid, sequence and chiral analysis, and peptide mapping of proteins. Some micropreparative peptide separations are shown and capabilities of CE and CEC methods to provide important physicochemical characteristics of peptides are demonstrated.

Identification of bioactive peptides in hypoallergenic infant milk formulas by CE-TOF-MS assisted by semiempirical model of electromigration behavior

Biologically active peptides derived from complex bovine milk protein hydrolysates are of particular interest in food science and nutrition because they have been shown to play different physiological roles, providing benefits in human health. In this study, we used CE-TOF-MS for separation and identification of bioactive peptides in three hypoallergenic infant milk formulas. An appropriate sample cleanup using a citrate buffer with DTT and urea followed by SPE with Sep-Pack® C18 and StrataX™ cartridges allowed the detection of a large number of low molecular mass bioactive peptides. This preliminary identification was solely based on the measured experimental monoisotopic molecular mass values (M(exp)). Later, we evaluated the classical semiempirical relationships between electrophoretic mobility and charge-to-mass ratio (m(e) vs. q/M(α), α = 1/2 for the classical polymer model) to describe their migration behavior. The assistance of migration prediction proved to be useful to improve reliability of the identification, avoiding misinterpretations and solving some identity conflicts. After revision, the identity of 24, 30, and 38 bioactive peptides was confirmed in each of the three infant milk formulas. A significant number of these peptides were reported as inhibitors of angiotensin-converting enzyme, however, the presence of sequences with other biological activities such as antihypertensive, antithrombotic, hypocholesterolemic, immunomodulation, cytotoxicity, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antigenic, or opioid was also confirmed.

Recent developments in capillary and microchip electroseparations of peptides (2011-2013)

The review presents a comprehensive survey of recent developments and applications of capillary and microchip electroseparation methods (zone electrophoresis, ITP, IEF, affinity electrophoresis, EKC, and electrochromatography) for analysis, isolation, purification, and physicochemical and biochemical characterization of peptides. Advances in the investigation of electromigration properties of peptides, in the methodology of their analysis, including sample preseparation, preconcentration and derivatization, adsorption suppression and EOF control, as well as in detection of peptides, are presented. New developments in particular CE and CEC modes are reported and several types of their applications to peptide analysis are described: conventional qualitative and quantitative analysis, determination in complex (bio)matrices, monitoring of chemical and enzymatical reactions and physical changes, amino acid, sequence and chiral analysis, and peptide mapping of proteins. Some micropreparative peptide separations are shown and capabilities of CE and CEC techniques to provide relevant physicochemical characteristics of peptides are demonstrated.

Site-specific separation and detection of phosphopeptide isomers with pH-mediated stacking capillary electrophoresis-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry

This study reported a pH-mediated stacking CE coupled with ESI MS/MS method to determine the phosphorylation sites of three synthetic phosphopeptides containing structural isomers. These phosphopeptides mimic the phosphopeptides (amino acid residues 12-25) derived from the trypsin-digested products of human lamin A/C protein. The LODs were determined to be 118, 132 and 1240 fmol for SGAQASS(19)TpPL(22)SPTR, SGAQASS(19)TPL(22)SpPTR, and SGAQASS(19)TpPL(22)SpPTR, respectively. The established method was employed to analyze the phosphorylation sites of the trypsin-digested products of glutathione S-transferase-lamin A/C (1-57) fusion protein that had been phosphorylated in vitro by cyclin-dependent kinase 1. The results indicated that this method is feasible to specifically determine the phosphorylation site from phosphopeptide isomers in the trypsin-digested products of a kinase-catalyzed phosphoprotein, which should benefit the investigation of protein kinase-mediated cellular signal transduction.

Capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry for Peptide analysis: target-based approaches and proteomics/peptidomics strategies

In this chapter, the potential of capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry (CE-MS) for peptide analysis is demonstrated by the presentation of two different strategies typically followed in analysis of these biomolecules by CE-MS. The first one is a target-based approach and it is used to detect a toxic oligopeptide in a complex matrix. Namely, CE-MS using an ion trap MS analyzer is applied to detect and quantify γ-glutamyl-S-ethenyl-cysteine (GEC) bioactive dipeptide in a legume plant. The second one is a shotgun-like methodology used for proteomic analysis. Particularly, CE-MS using a time-of-flight MS analyzer is employed to investigate the substantial equivalence between a genetically modified (GM) variety of soybean and its conventional isogenic counterpart. These generic methods have broad applications for the analysis of peptides in a large variety of matrices, including applications in the area of proteomics and peptidomics.

Resolving multiple protein-peptide binding events: implication for HLA-DQ2 mediated antigen presentation in celiac disease

Techniques that can effectively separate protein-peptide complexes from free peptides have shown great value in major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-peptide binding studies. However, most of the available techniques are limited to measuring the binding of a single peptide to an MHC molecule. As antigen presentation in vivo involves both endogenous ligands and exogenous antigens, the deconvolution of multiple binding events necessitates the implementation of a more powerful technique. Here we show that capillary electrophoresis coupled to fluorescence detection (CE-FL) can resolve multiple MHC-peptide binding events owing to its superior resolution and the ability to simultaneously monitor multiple emission channels. We utilized CE-FL to investigate competition and displacement of endogenous peptides by an immunogenic gluten peptide for binding to HLA-DQ2. Remarkably, this immunogenic peptide could displace CLIP peptides from the DQ2 binding site at neutral but not acidic pH. This unusual ability of the gluten peptide supports a direct loading mechanism of antigen presentation in extracellular environment, a property that could explain the antigenicity of dietary gluten in celiac disease.

Evaluation of an on-capillary copper complexation methodology for the investigation of in vitro metabolism of dynorphin A 1-17

Dynorphin A 1-17 is an endogenous neuropeptide implicated in a variety of neurological disorders including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and neuropathic pain. Metabolites of this peptide can exhibit their own unique effects in vivo, and it is possible that one of these metabolites is responsible for the neurotoxicity. In this article, the use of CE for the separation of dynorphin A 1-17 from four of its metabolites is described. Buffer additives were investigated to eliminate peptide adsorption to the capillary wall and to improve resolution between closely related metabolites. On-capillary copper complexation was employed and was shown to improve separation efficiency as compared with the separation of native peptides. The method was then applied to in vitro dynorphin metabolism in human plasma as well as rat brain and rat spinal cord slices.