Simple and sensitive laser-induced fluorescence detection for capillary electrophoresis and its application to protein separation

Abstract

A low-cost and highly sensitive laser-induced fluorescence detector for on-column detection systems was constructed and its applications were demonstrated in protein separation by capillary electrophoresis. The limit of detection (LOD) at a signal-to-noise ratio of 2 for Lissamine 20 was about 1.4 x 10 -21 mole at 10 nL sample injection and the relative standard deviation (RSD) for 1.5 x 10 -11 M of Lissamine 20 solution was about 15%. These values are comparable to or even better than those reported using a similar on-column detection system. This sensitive LIF detection was applied for the study of tryptic digestion of insulin and for urinary protein profiling.