SPE of 5-lipoxygenase metabolites and the effect of head-column field-amplified sample stacking in MEKC.

The SPE of leukotrienes and eicosatetraenoic acids using anion exchange materials was compared to the classical extraction with C18 columns. A silica-based strong anion exchanger, a polymer-based weak anion exchanger, and a polymer-based mixed-mode strong anion exchanger were studied. All anion exchange materials displayed a higher recovery of the analytes with values between 70 and 90% when extracting standard solutions and analyzing by HPLC. The effect was less pronounced for the analysis of the compounds in incubations of polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Using MEKC with head-column field-amplified sample stacking for analyte quantification, much lower values of the peak areas were observed compared to the determination of the recovery of the analytes by HPLC. Using MEKC analysis, the highest values were found for the polymer-based weak anion exchange material, while values below 10% were found for the polymer-based mixed mode strong anion exchanger. This could be attributed to the presence of electrolytes in the eluates that compromised the stacking efficiency. The extent of residual electrolytes depended on the SPE protocol, resulting in large differences of the amount of analyte determined by MEKC when applying head-column field-amplified sample stacking for online analyte concentration.

Capillary electrophoretic enzyme assays.

In the past years, capillary electrophoresis has become a frequently used technique for enzyme assays due to the high separation efficiency and versatility as well as small sample size and low consumption of chemicals. The capillary electrophoresis assays can be divided into two general categories: pre-capillary (or offline) assays and in-capillary (or online) assays. In pre-capillary assays, the incubation is performed offline and substrate(s) and product(s) are subsequently analyzed by capillary electrophoresis. In in-capillary assays enzyme reaction and separation of the analytes are performed inside the same capillary. In such assays the enzyme is either immobilized or in solution. The latter techniques is also referred to as electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA) indicating that the individual steps of the incubation as well as analysis are performed via electrophoretic phenomena. This chapter describes both techniques using the deacetylation of acetyl-lysine residues in model peptides by sirtuin enzymes as well as the hydrolysis of acetylthiocholine by acetylcholinesterase as examples.

Chemometrics-guided development of a cyclodextrin-modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography method with head-column field amplified sample stacking for the analysis of 5-lipoxygenase metabolites.

A new sensitive method using α-cyclodextrin-modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography has been developed to separate and quantify arachidonic acid metabolites of the lipoxygenase pathways in human polymorphonuclear leukocytes, i.e. leukotriene B(4), 6-trans-leukotriene B(4), 6-trans-12-epi-leukotriene B(4), 5(S)-hydroxy-6-trans-8,11,14-cis-eicosatetraenoic acid, 12(S)-hydroxy-6-trans-8,11,14-cis-eicosatetraenoic acid, and 15(S)-hydroxy-6-trans-8,11,14-cis-eicosatetraenoic acid. The electrophoresis system was optimized with regard to the pH, boric acid, SDS and α-cyclodextrin concentration as well as separation voltage and temperature using a three level resolution IV fractional factorial design and a five level circumscribed central composite design. The resulting optimized conditions included 80 mM sodium borate buffer, pH 10.07, containing 16.6mM sodium dodecyl sulfate, and 15 mM α-cyclodextrin, using a separation voltage of 12.5 kV at 23°C. Sensitivity was enhanced employing head-column field amplified sample stacking which resulted in limits of quantification between 30 and 50 ng/mL and limits of detection between 10 and 17 ng/mL after solid phase extraction of the lipoxygenase products. The method was validated according to the recommendations of the International Conference on Harmonization and applied to the determination of the lipoxygenase metabolites in polymorphonuclear leukocytes upon stimulation with Ca(2+)-ionophore A23187 and arachidonic acid. Robustness was confirmed using a three level resolution IV fractional factorial design. The novel method is suitable for the analysis of various arachidonic acid metabolites produced by cells and may be used for evaluation of lipoxygenase inhibitors.

A new nonpeptide substrate of human sirtuin in a capillary electrophoresis-based assay. Investigation of the binding mode by docking experiments.

Sirtuins are nicotinamide dinucleotide-dependent class III histone deacetylases catalyzing various physiological processes involved in cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and ageing. This makes them attractive targets in drug research. In order to simplify sirtuin substrates for assay development, two N(ɛ)-acetyllysine derivatives, N(ɛ)-acetyl-N(α)-(4-methyl-7-methoxycoumarin)lysine amide, and N(ɛ)-acetyl-N(α)-(4-methyl-7-methoxycoumarin)lysine methyl ester were synthesized and evaluated as substrates for human SIRT1 in a capillary electrophoresis-based enzyme assay. Substrate, deacetylated product, and the coproduct nicotinamide were separated in a 200 mM phosphate/Tris buffer at pH 2.85. Field-amplified sample injection was employed to achieve sufficient assay sensitivity. While the ester derivative was not recognized by the enzyme, the amide substrate was effectively converted to the deacetylated product. The assay was subsequently validated with respect to range, linearity, limit of detection, and limit of quantification. Michaelis-Menten kinetic parameters, K(m) = 83 µM and V(max) = 6.8 µM/min were determined. The applicability of the assay for inhibitor screening was demonstrated using the known inhibitors sirtinol and the suramin derivate NF258. Resveratrol did not increase the deacetylation rate at concentrations of up to 200 µM. Docking experiments revealed the necessity of an amide function at the C-terminus of nonpeptide substrates while more structural freedom is tolerated at the N-terminus of N(ɛ) -acetyllysine.