Capillary electrophoresis of peptides and proteins in fused-silica capillaries coated with derivatized polystyrene nanoparticles

High-resolution capillary electrophoretic separation of proteins and peptides was achieved by coating the inner wall of 75 mu m ID fused-silica capillaries with 40-140 nm polystyrene particles which have been derivatized with alpha-omega-diamines such as ethylenediamine or 1,10-diaminodecane. A stable and irreversibly adsorbed coating was obtained upon deprotonation of the capillary surface with aqueous sodium hydroxide and subsequent flushing with a suspension of the positively charged particles. At pH 3.1, the detrimental adsorption of proteins to the capillary inner wall was suppressed efficiently because of electrostatic repulsion of the positively charged proteins from the positively charged coating which enabled protein separations with maximum efficiencies of 400 000 plates per meter. A substantial improvement of separation efficiency in particle-coated capillaries was observed after in-column derivatization of amino functionalities with 2,3-epoxy-1-propanol, resulting in a more hydrophilic coating. Five basic and four acidic proteins could be separated in less than 7 min with efficiencies up to 1 900 000 theoretical plates per meter. Finally, coated capillaries were applied to the high-resolution analysis of protein glycoforms and bioactive peptides.