Attomole protein analysis by CIEF with LIF detection

We have coupled CIEF with an LIF detector that is based on a post-column sheath flow cuvette. We employed Chromeo P503 as a fluorogenic reagent to label proteins before analysis. This reagent reacts with the ε-amine of lysine residues, preserving the cationic nature of the residue; labeled proteins generate extremely sharp peaks in CIEF. A set of four standard proteins generated a linear relationship between migration time and pI. A protein homogenate prepared from a Barrett's esophagus cell line resolved over 100 components in a 40 min separation. Detection limits for Chromeo P503-labeled β-lactoglobulin were 5 amol injected into the capillary. Fluorescent impurities present in the ampholytes generated a large background signal that degraded the detection limit by four orders of magnitude compared with other forms of capillary electrophoresis with this detector.