Separation of tissue proteins of human lung carcinomas by partial-filling capillary electrophoresis

Tissue proteins from human squamous cell lung carcinomas (SQCLC) and small cell lung carcinomas (SCLC) were separated in 0.01% hydroxypylmethyl cellulose (HPMC) linear polymer sieving solutions in the inlet portion of the capillary and next to the outlet of the capillary, followed by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) in 40 mM phosphate buffer, pH 2.5. A proper HPMC concentration could cause a molecular sieving effect through the formation of an entangled polymer network. The migration time of the analyte in this matrix depended on the size and electrophoretic mobility of the analyte, the mesh size, and the electric field strength. In the CZE separation, the electroosmotic flow and the charge-to-size ratio of the analyte were important parameters. HPMC concentration and zone length were examined to optimize the separation. Applying this partial-filling technique to the separation of water-soluble proteins from human lung tissues, we found a greatly improved resolution and increased peak intensity. The capillary electrophoresis patterns of normal, SQCLC, and SCLC were obtained and compared for their molecular classifications.