Rapid Intact Mass Analysis and Evaluation of the Separation Potential of Microfluidic Capillary Electrophoresis Mass Spectrometry for Oligonucleotides

Oligonucleotide characterization is a rapidly advancing field in the biopharmaceutical industry. Understanding critical quality attributes, such as intact mass and impurities, requires a toolbox of analytical techniques, which commonly includes liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Oligonucleotide LC-MS analysis frequently requires sample run times upward of 15 min to achieve separation of multiple oligonucleotide species. Additionally, LC methods frequently employ mobile phase additives such as triethylamine and 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol that are not always desired for use in MS instrumentation. Here, microfluidic capillary electrophoresis mass spectrometry (CE-MS) via ZipChip technology was employed to enable rapid intact mass analysis of oligonucleotide single strands. Baseline separation of equal length oligonucleotides was achieved in less than 4 min. Additionally, the potential of the ZipChip platform for separation of oligonucleotide full-length products (FLPs) and their impurities was evaluated.