Free solution capillary electrophoresis of proteins using untreated fused-silica capillaries

Numerous efforts have been made to separate proteins by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). The most common optimization techniques are changing the pH of the running buffer, coating the capillary surface with a hydrophilic polymer, or using additives in the sample solution. Surface coatings and solution additives can reduce the adsorption of the protein onto the capillary surface, but they diminish the separation efficiency and the resolution of CZE. This paper reports the successful separation of proteins in a untreated fused-silica capillary by raising the pH of the running buffer and washing between runs with 1.0 M sodium hydroxide. Under these conditions, model proteins and proteins in human serum have been determined by CZE. It is shown that the results from CZE are compatible with those of sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.