Analysis and Optimization of Nonequilibrium Capillary Electrophoresis of α-Fetoprotein Isoforms

Electrochemical Assay of the Alpha Fetoprotein-L3 Isoform Ratio To Improve the Diagnostic Accuracy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is now the major malignant disease with high morbidity and mortality, which seriously endangers human lives and health. Alpha fetoprotein (AFP) assay is a commonly used serological biomarker for clinical diagnosis of HCC, but it lacks specificity. Analysis of its isoform AFP-L3, especially the AFP-L3 ratio in total AFP (AFP-L3%), can significantly improve the specificity for HCC identification. Herein, an electrochemical approach has been first proposed for simple, accurate, and fast determination of AFP-L3% in clinical samples. On the basis of two independent electrochemical signals generated from the synthesized nanoparticles, 4-mercaptophenylboronic acid (MPA)-functionalized copper nanoparticles (MPA-CuNPs) and the Lens culinaris agglutinin (LCA)-functionalized silver nanoparticles (LCA-AgNPs), simultaneous quantification of the AFP-L3 and total AFP in serum sample has been achieved, thus achieving directly the electrochemical assay of AFP-L3%. To be noted, both the assay time and the assay procedure have been significantly compressed when compared to that of available techniques in clinical use. Therefore, with the integration of electrochemical techniques, this new approach for AFP-L3% analysis would be promising for the accurate diagnosis of HCC.

[Application of capillary electrophoresis in analysis of disease specific proteins]

One of the most urgent things in life science is to find out special proteins related to human diseases. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) shows many advantages in protein analysis, such as high separation efficiency, high speed, low cost, etc. Furthermore, there are many different separation modes and multifarious detectors can be chosen in CE for the analysis of different samples. In this paper, the applications of CE in the analysis of specific proteins, which might associate with some serious diseases, such as tumor, neurodegenerative disease and transfusion transmitted infections, are summarized.

Multianalyte on-chip native Western blotting

We introduce and characterize multiplexed native Western blotting in an automated and unified microfluidic format. While slab gel Western blotting is slow and laborious, conventional multiplexed blotting ("reblotting": probing one sample with multiple antibodies) requires even more resources. Here we detail three key advances that enable an automated and rapid microfluidic alternative to slab gel reblotting. First, we introduce both assay and microdevice designs that integrate protein blotting against multiple antibody blotting regions with native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This microfluidic integration strategy overcomes nonspecific material losses inherent to harsh antibody stripping steps typically needed for conventional reblotting; said conditions can severely limit analyte quantitation. Second, to inform rational design of the multiplexed microfluidic device we develop an analytical model for analyte capture on the blotting regions. Comparison to empirical observations is reported, with capture efficiencies of >85%. Third, we introduce label free detection that makes simultaneous and quantitative multiplexed measurements possible without the need for prelabeling of sample. Assay linear dynamic range spans 8-800 nM with assay completion in 5 min. Owing to the speed, automation, enhanced quantitation capability, and the difficulty of conventional slab gel Western reblotting, microfluidic multiplexed native Western blotting should find use in systems biology, in particular in analyses of protein isoforms and multimeric protein complexes.

Recent developments in instrumentation for capillary electrophoresis and microchip-capillary electrophoresis

Over the last years, there has been an explosion in the number of developments and applications of CE and microchip-CE. In part, this growth has been the direct consequence of recent developments in instrumentation associated with CE. This review, which is focused on the contributions published in the last 5 years, is intended to complement the articles presented in this special issue dedicated to instrumentation and to provide an overview of the general trends and some of the most remarkable developments published in the areas of high-voltage power supplies, detectors, auxiliary components, and compact systems. It also includes a few examples of alternative uses of and modifications to traditional CE instruments.

Integrated microfluidic device for serum biomarker quantitation using either standard addition or a calibration curve

Detection and accurate quantitation of biomarkers such as alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) can be a key aspect of early stage cancer diagnosis. Microfluidic devices provide attractive analysis capabilities, including low sample and reagent consumption, as well as short assay times. However, to date microfluidic analyzers have relied almost exclusively on calibration curves for sample quantitation, which can be problematic for complex mixtures such as human serum. We have fabricated integrated polymer microfluidic systems that can quantitatively determine fluorescently labeled AFP in human serum using either the method of standard addition or a calibration curve. Our microdevices couple an immunoaffinity purification step with rapid microchip electrophoresis separation in a laser-induced fluorescence detection system, all under automated voltage control in a miniaturized polymer microchip. In conjunction with laser-induced fluorescence detection, these systems can quantify AFP at approximately 1 ng/mL levels in approximately 10 microL of human serum in a few tens of minutes. Our polymer microdevices have been applied in determining AFP in spiked serum samples. These integrated microsystems offer excellent potential for rapid, simple, and accurate biomarker quantitation in a point-of-care setting.