THE USE OF A CONCENTRATION STEP TO COLLECT URINARY COMPONENTS SEPARATED BY CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS AND FURTHER CHARACTERIZATION OF COLLECTED ANALYTES BY MASS-SPECTROMETRY

Two methods were developed using capillary electrophoresis to concentrate urinary constituents in order to collect adequate amounts of separated analytes. The first method utilizes multiple capillaries arranged in bundles and coupled to a single capillary through a glass connector. The second method consists of the use of an analyte concentrator containing an antibody covalently bound to a solid support material. Both methods allow loading of increased amounts of samples into the capillary, and the continuous collection of purified material in nanogram-microgram quantities. The samples collected by the two methods were further analyzed by mass spectrometry. The results are discussed in terms of practical value when using an analyte concentrator coupled to capillary electrophoresis for the analysis of minute quantities of substances, and the semipreparative collection and further identification of sample components by mass spectrometry or any other relevant technique.