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Yu Z, Cao Y, Tian Y, Ji W, Chen KE, Wang Z, Ren J, Xiao H, Zhang L, Liu W, Fan L, Zhang Q, Cao C. Real-time and quantitative protein detection via polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and online intrinsic fluorescence imaging. Anal Chim Acta 2024; 1291:342219. [PMID: 38280790 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2024.342219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/29/2024]
Abstract
The detection of intrinsic protein fluorescence is a powerful tool for studying proteins in their native state. Thanks to its label-free and stain-free feature, intrinsic fluorescence detection has been introduced to polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), a fundamental and ubiquitous protein analysis technique, to avoid the tedious detection process. However, the reported methods of intrinsic fluorescence detection were incompatible with online PAGE detection or standard slab gel. Here, we fulfilled online intrinsic fluorescence imaging (IFI) of the standard slab gel to develop a PAGE-IFI method for real-time and quantitative protein detection. To do so, we comprehensively investigated the arrangement of the deep-UV light source to obtain a large imaging area compatible with the standard slab gel, and then designed a semi-open gel electrophoresis apparatus (GEA) to scaffold the gel for the online UV irradiation and IFI with low background noise. Thus, we achieved real-time monitoring of the protein migration, which enabled us to determine the optimal endpoint of PAGE run to improve the sensitivity of IFI. Moreover, online IFI circumvented the broadening of protein bands to enhance the separation resolution. Because of the low background noise and the optimized endpoint, we showcased the quantitative detection of bovine serum albumin (BSA) with a limit of detection (LOD) of 20 ng. The standard slab gel provided a high sample loading volume that allowed us to attain a wide linear range of 0.03-10 μg. These results indicate that the PAGE-IFI method can be a promising alternative to conventional PAGE and can be widely used in molecular biology labs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zixian Yu
- School of Sensing Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Yiren Cao
- School of Sensing Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China; School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Youli Tian
- School of Life Science and Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Weicheng Ji
- School of Sensing Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Ke-Er Chen
- School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Zihao Wang
- School of Sensing Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Jicun Ren
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Hua Xiao
- School of Life Science and Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Lu Zhang
- School of Life Science and Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Weiwen Liu
- School of Sensing Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Liuyin Fan
- Student Innovation Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
| | - Qiang Zhang
- School of Sensing Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
| | - Chengxi Cao
- School of Sensing Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China; School of Life Science and Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
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2
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Sajjadi S, Wu SJ, Rabbani Y, Zubkovs V, Ahmadzadeh H, K. Goharshadi E, Boghossian AA. Micropreparative Gel Electrophoresis for Purification of Nanoscale Bioconjugates. Bioconjug Chem 2024; 35:154-163. [PMID: 38320084 PMCID: PMC10885001 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.3c00388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
Conventional techniques for purifying macromolecular conjugates often require complex and costly installments that are inaccessible to most laboratories. In this work, we develop a one-step micropreparative method based on a trilayered polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (MP-PAGE) setup to purify biological samples, synthetic nanoparticles, as well as biohybrid complexes. We apply this method to recover DNA from a ladder mixture with yields of up to 90%, compared to the 58% yield obtained using the conventional crush-and-soak method. MP-PAGE was also able to isolate enhanced yellow fluorescence protein (EYFP) from crude cell extract with 90% purity, which is comparable to purities achieved through a more complex two-step purification procedure involving size exclusion and immobilized metal-ion affinity chromatography. This technique was further extended to demonstrate size-dependent separation of a commercial mixture of graphene quantum dots (GQDs) into three different fractions with distinct optical properties. Finally, MP-PAGE was used to isolate DNA-EYFP and DNA-GQD bioconjugates from their reaction mixture of DNA and EYFP and GQD precursors, samples that otherwise could not be effectively purified by conventional chromatography. MP-PAGE thus offers a rapid and versatile means of purifying biological and synthetic nanomaterials without the need for specialized equipment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayyed
Hashem Sajjadi
- Ecole
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
- Chemistry
Department, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi
University of Mashhad, Mashhad 9177948974, Iran
| | - Shang-Jung Wu
- Ecole
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
| | - Yahya Rabbani
- Ecole
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
| | - Vitalijs Zubkovs
- Ecole
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
| | - Hossein Ahmadzadeh
- Chemistry
Department, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi
University of Mashhad, Mashhad 9177948974, Iran
| | - Elaheh K. Goharshadi
- Chemistry
Department, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi
University of Mashhad, Mashhad 9177948974, Iran
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Wang Z, Cao Y, Yu Z, Tian Y, Ren J, Liu W, Fan L, Zhang Q, Cao C. High-resolution nucleic acid detection using online polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis platform. J Chromatogr A 2024; 1713:464571. [PMID: 38091846 DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2023.464571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Revised: 11/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/08/2024]
Abstract
Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) is one of the most popular techniques for the separation and detection of nucleic acids. However, it requires a complicated detection procedure and offline detection format, which inevitably leads to band broadening and thus compromises the separation resolution. To overcome this problem, we developed an online PAGE (OPAGE) platform by integrating the gel electrophoresis apparatus with the gel imaging system, so as to obviate the need for the complicated detection procedure. Notably, OPAGE enabled the real-time monitoring of the separation process and the immediate imaging of the separation results once the electrophoresis ended. Using a series of synthetic DNAs with different lengths as samples, we demonstrated that the OPAGE platform enhanced 32-64 % of the number of theoretical plates, showed a robust dynamic range of 0.1-12.5 ng/μL, and realized a limit of detection as low as 0.08 ng/μL DNA. Based on our results, we anticipate that the OPAGE platform is a promising alternative to traditional nucleic acid gel electrophoresis for simple and high-resolution detection and quantification and nucleic acid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zihao Wang
- School of Sensing Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Yiren Cao
- School of Sensing Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China; School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Zixian Yu
- School of Sensing Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Youli Tian
- School of Sensing Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China; School of Life Science and Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Jicun Ren
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Weiwen Liu
- School of Sensing Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Liuyin Fan
- Student Innovation Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
| | - Qiang Zhang
- School of Sensing Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
| | - Chengxi Cao
- School of Sensing Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China; School of Life Science and Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
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Ward CL, Cornejo MA, Peli Thanthri SH, Linz TH. A review of electrophoretic separations in temperature-responsive Pluronic thermal gels. Anal Chim Acta 2023; 1276:341613. [PMID: 37573098 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2023.341613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/14/2023]
Abstract
Gel electrophoresis is a ubiquitous bioanalytical technique used in research laboratories to validate protein and nucleic acid samples. Polyacrylamide and agarose have been the gold standard gel materials for decades, but an alternative class of polymer has emerged with potentially superior performance. Pluronic thermal gels are water-soluble polymers that possess the unique ability to undergo a change in viscosity in response to changing temperature. Thermal gels can reversibly convert between low-viscosity liquids and high-viscosity solid gels using temperature as an adjustable parameter. The properties of thermal gels provide unmatched flexibility as a dynamic separations matrix to measure analytes ranging from small molecules to cells. This review article describes the physical and chemical properties of Pluronic thermal gels to provide a fundamental overview of polymer behavior. The performance of thermal gels is then reviewed to highlight their applications as a gel matrix for electrokinetic separations in capillary, microfluidic, and slab gel formats. The use of dynamic temperature-responsive gels in bioanalytical separations is an underexplored area of research but one that holds exciting potential to achieve performance unattainable with conventional static polymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cassandra L Ward
- Department of Chemistry, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA; Lumigen Instrument Center, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA.
| | - Mario A Cornejo
- Department of Chemistry, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
| | | | - Thomas H Linz
- Department of Chemistry, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA.
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Xue J, Zhang Q, Cao J, Tian Y, Zha G, Liu X, Liu W, Wang Y, Gui D, Cao C. Gel Electrophoresis Chip Using Joule Heat Self-Dissipation, Short Run Time, and Online Dynamic Imaging. Anal Chem 2021; 94:2007-2015. [PMID: 34958211 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c03635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Gel electrophoresis (GE) is one of the most general tools in biomedicine. However, it suffers from low resolution, and its mechanism has not been fully revealed yet. Herein, we presented the dispersion model of w2 (t) ∝ Tt, showing the band dispersion (w) via temperature (T) and running time (t) control. Second, we designed an efficient GE chip via the time control and rapid Joule heat self-dissipation by thermal conductive plastic (TCP) and electrode buffer. Third, we conducted the simulations on TCP and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) chips, unveiling that (i) the temperature of TCP was lower than the PMMA one, (ii) the temperature uniformity of TCP was better than the PMMA one, and (iii) the resolution of TCP was superior to the PMMA one. Fourth, we designed both TCP and PMMA chips for experimentally validating the dispersion model, TCP chip, and simulations. Finally, we applied the TCP chip to thalassemia and model urine protein assays. The TCP chip has merits of high resolution, rapid run of 6-10 min, and low cost. This work paves the way for greatly improving electrophoretic techniques in gel, chip, and capillary via temperature and time control for biologic study, biopharma quality control, clinical diagnosis, and so on.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Xue
- Department of Instrument Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China.,School of Life Science and Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
| | - Qiang Zhang
- Department of Instrument Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
| | - Jun Cao
- Department of Instrument Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
| | - Youli Tian
- Department of Instrument Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China.,School of Life Science and Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
| | - Genhan Zha
- Department of Instrument Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
| | - Xiaoping Liu
- Department of Instrument Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
| | - Weiwen Liu
- Department of Instrument Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
| | - Yuxing Wang
- School of Physics and Astronomies, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
| | - Dingkun Gui
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233, P. R. China
| | - Chengxi Cao
- Department of Instrument Science and Engineering, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China.,Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233, P. R. China.,School of Life Science and Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
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Abstract
A hydrogel is a solid form of polymer network absorbed in a substantial amount of aqueous solution. In electrophoresis, hydrogels play versatile roles including as support media, sieving matrixes, affinity scaffolds, and compositions of molecularly imprinting polymers. Recently, the study of hydrogels has been advancing with unprecedented speed, and the application of hydrogels in separation science has brought new opportunities and possible breakthroughs. A good understanding about the roles and effects of the material is essential for hydrogel applications. This review summarizes the hydrogels that has been described in various modes of electrophoretic separations, including isoelectric focusing gel electrophoresis (IEFGE), isotachophoresis (ITP), gel electrophoresis and affinity gel electrophoresis (AGE). As microchip electrophoresis (ME) is one of the future trends in electrophoresis, thought provoking studies related to hydrogels in ME are also introduced. Novel hydrogels and methods that improve separation performance, facilitate the experimental operation process, allow for rapid analysis, and promote the integration to microfluidic devices are highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenchen Liu
- Department of Material Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University
| | - Takuya Kubo
- Department of Material Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University
| | - Koji Otsuka
- Department of Material Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University
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7
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Electrophoretic extraction of highly monodispersed graphene quantum dots from widely polydispersed bulk and its cytotoxicity effect against cancer cells. Microchem J 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.microc.2020.105391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Sajjadi SH, Ahmadzadeh H, Goharshadi EK. Enhanced electrophoretic separation of proteins by tethered SiO 2 nanoparticles in an SDS-polyacrylamide gel network. Analyst 2020; 145:415-423. [PMID: 31789322 DOI: 10.1039/c9an01759c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Nanoparticles (NPs) are able to improve the separation efficiency of proteins in SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) due to their capability of enhancing heat dissipation during electrophoresis. However, the intrinsic surface charges of NPs (at buffer pH or charge induced due to the SDS coating) make them acquire electrophoretic mobility and movement in the gel. Such a movement leads to viscosity and temperature gradients in the gel and deteriorates the separation. In this work, we proposed a novel method by using tethered NPs in the gel. Silica NPs, as the model NPs, were prepared and their surfaces were modified using 3-[(methacryloxy)propyl] trimethoxysilane (MPS) which locks the NPs in the gel via covalent bonds (M-SiO2/PA (polyacrylamide)). SiO2 NPs were embedded into the gel (SiO2/PA) as the positive control, while pure PA gel was chosen as the negative control. The results showed that at a relatively high voltage of 250 V, although the Joule heat generated during electrophoresis disturbed the separation in the pure gel, the SiO2/PA and M-SiO2/PA nanocomposite gels showed better performances. In comparison with the pure PA gel, the resolution increased by 3 and 32% for SiO2/PA and M-SiO2/PA, respectively, in a relatively short separation time of 35 min. The gel with tethered NPs presented a more efficient separation in terms of band broadening and resolution compared with the gel with free NPs probably due to the movement of free charged particles in the gel. Evidently, the migration speed of protein bands in the gels decreased especially for larger proteins in the presence of the NPs compared to the pristine gel due to the steric hindrance of the NPs. Finally, we separated E. coli proteins, as a real sample. Among the three gels (pure PA, SiO2/PA, and M-SiO2/PA), the gel containing M-SiO2 showed the best performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayyed Hashem Sajjadi
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad 9177948974, Iran.
| | - Hossein Ahmadzadeh
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad 9177948974, Iran.
| | - Elaheh K Goharshadi
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad 9177948974, Iran. and Nano Research Centre, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad 9177948974, Iran
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