Application of electrophoretic techniques to the diagnosis of disorders of lipoprotein metabolism. Examples at the levels of lipoproteins and apolipoproteins

Enzymatic determination of cholesterol and triglycerides in serum lipoprotein profiles by asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation with on-line, dual detection

Alterations of lipoproteins (LPs) and related lipid levels in blood serum are correlated to the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). Fast, possibly automated methods to obtain complete, multi-parametric LP profiles are therefore welcome to be developed for routine, clinical analysis practice. In this work, asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) with on-line, dual post-fractionation reaction detection (PFRD) is applied to develop a method for single-run, simultaneous quantification of cholesterol (CHOL) and triglycerides (TGs) in each fractionated LP class. The enzymatic reagents used for the post-fractionation reaction are available as commercial kits for certified, standard clinical protocols for the analysis of CHOL and TGs in serum. Using CHOL and glycerol as reference standards, a new procedure is applied to optimize the experimental conditions for PFRD-based, quantitative analysis. Upon optimized PFRD and AF4 conditions, results obtained for the determination of total CHOL (TC), TGs, HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) in a set of serum samples from healthy donors are found in agreement with the values provided by a clinical laboratory. The intra-day and inter-day precisions of the method were found always lower than 10% (CV). When the method was applied to serum samples from patients affected by sepsis, differences in CHOL and TG profiles between patients and healthy donors were observed.

Clinical analysis by microchip capillary electrophoresis

Clinical analysis often requires rapid, automated, and high-throughput analytical systems. Microchip capillary electrophoresis (CE) has the potential to achieve very rapid analysis (typically seconds), easy integration of multiple analytical steps, and parallel operation. Although it is currently still in an early stage of development, there are already many reports in the literature describing the applications of microchip CE in clinical analysis. At the same time, more fully automated and higher throughput commercial instruments for microchip CE are becoming available and are expected to further enhance the development of applications of microchip CE in routine clinical testing. To put into perspective its potential, we briefly compare microchip CE with conventional CE and review developments in this technique that may be useful in diagnosis of major diseases.

Overview of capillary electrophoresis and capillary electrochromatography

This paper provides an overview on the current status of capillary electrophoresis (CE) and capillary electrochromatography (CEC). The focus is largely on the current application areas of CE where routine methods are now in place. These application areas include the analysis of DNA, clinical and forensic samples, carbohydrates, inorganic anions and metal ions, pharmaceuticals, enantiomeric species and proteins and peptides. More specific areas such the determination of physical properties, microchip CE and instrumentation developments are also covered. The application, advantages and limitations of CEC are covered. Recent review articles and textbooks are frequently cited to provide readers with a source of information regarding pioneering work and theoretical treatments.