TEMPERATURE-PROGRAMMED CAPILLARY AFFINITY GEL-ELECTROPHORESIS FOR THE SENSITIVE BASE-SPECIFIC SEPARATION OF OLIGODEOXYNUCLEOTIDES

High-performance base-specific separations of oligodeoxynucleotides were performed by temperature-programmed capillary affinity gel electrophoresis (CAGE), in which poly(9-vinylacenine) (PVAd) was utilized as an affinity ligand. The migration behaviour of oligodeoxynucleotides was investigated at different capillary temperatures. The migration time and resolution of oligodeoxyadenylic acids, which do not interact with PVAd, decrease with increase in temperature as in capillary gel electrophoretic separation. The migration behaviour of oligothymidylic acids, which interact with PVAd, is manipulated by varying the capillary temperature, which leads to changes in the dissociation process of specific hydrogen bonding between oligothymidylic acids and PVAd. The implementation of temperature-programmed CAGE was illustrated by the selective and sensitive base recognition of oligodeoxynucleotides with efficiencies as high as several times 10(6) plates per metre.