Use of capillary affinity electrophoresis for the determination of lectin-sugar interactions

Capillary affinity electrophoresis was used to study the interactions of lectins from Tetragonolobus purpuras with L-(-)-fucose 1-phosphate. The electrophoretic mobilities of three lectin peaks were influenced by the complexation with the negatively charged fucose derivative. A model that allows the calculation of the complex formation constant from the change in mobility at different concentrations of fucose 1-phosphate has been derived. Calcium ions added to the buffer solution promoted the complex formation of the three lectins. This technique required only minute amounts of the lectins and enabled the simultaneous study of the complex formation of several proteins.