An economic approach for construction of a multiplexed capillary electrophoresis system.
We describe in this report an economic approach to construct a multiplexed capillary electrophoresis (CE) system with optic-fiber UV detection. To demonstrate the feasibility of this approach, a seven-lane CE setup is built. The system has a background noise of approximately 10(-5) absorbance unit, a limit of detection of 3-4muM for uracil at 254nm, and a linear dynamic range of 2.5 orders of magnitude. The apparatus consists of three major components: a UV light source, a photodiode array (PDA) and optical module assembly, and a computer. Compared to the recently reported 96-lane capillary electrophoresis system with UV-vis absorbance detection, the cost of goods is reduced by more than 10-fold, and the noise level is improved by 2 to 3 folds. Parallel CE separations of a protein mixture have been performed on this apparatus, and reproducible and high resolution separation results have been obtained. Detailed construction and characterization of the system have also been discussed.
Liu
Shaorong
S
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas Tech University, Circle One Drive, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA.
Pu
Qiaosheng
Q
Gao
Lin
L
Lu
Joann
J