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Development of an Automated On-line Hyphenation of Capillary Electrophoresis with Multicollector ICP-MS for Species-specific Isotopic Analysis of Biomolecules

Subject Area Analytical Chemistry
Term from 2020 to 2025
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 440953647
 
Final Report Year 2025

Final Report Abstract

Methods for analyzing isotope ratios are becoming increasingly popular, especially in the lifesciences, as they provide detailed insights into the speciation of elements and processes at the molecular level. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) provides valuable information here, as it enables the precise analysis of isotope ratios at trace level concentration. In combination with chromatographic or electrokinetic separation methods, ICP-MS becomes even more powerful and enables efficient and species-specific isotope analysis, especially for complex biological samples. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) as a high-resolution separation method is particularly suitable for biological matrices, as it requires minimal sample quantities and at the same time high separation power. Sulphur is a central element in proteins and enzymes, which play a key role in amino acid synthesis and cell metabolism. The analysis of sulfur isotope ratios in different elemental species provides valuable insights in different areas - e.g., metabolic pathways, disease mechanisms or environmental processes. However, current sulfur analysis methods mostly perform bulk sulfur analyses (concentrations, isotopes), which limits the ability to distinguish between individual sulfur-containing species. However, this is particularly relevant for biological samples in which sulfur occurs in different forms, each of which fulfills different biochemical functions (e.g., different proteins). It is therefore essential to separate the sulfur species before analysis. The on-line CE/ICP-MS method offers a promising approach, but is associated with various challenges, such as the coupling of the analytical devices, the optimization of the parameters of the analytical method (especially regarding isotope ratios) and the handling of complex samples. The focus of the research project was therefore on the further development of CE/ICP-MS as a robust on-line analysis platform for species-specific isotope analyses.

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