Analytical Separations of Large Biopolymers through Capillary Electrophoresis

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This grant from the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program will support Professor Novotny's investigations of the applications of pulsed-field capillary electrophoresis (CE) in the separation and characterization of polysaccharides and proteoglycans. The goal is to extend CE technology to high molecular weight biopolymers in the range of 100,000 to 100,000,000 Daltons. The materials to be investigated will include large proteins, DNA molecules with unusual shapes, polysaccharides, proteoglycans, and other biomolecules. In addition, a fundamental investigation of the factors which control the rate of migration of large molecules in pulsed electric fields will be carried out by Professor Novotny and his students. This research will extend the capabilities of capillary electrophoresis, a method that allows the separation of charged components present in complex macromolecular mixtures. The goal is to be able to separate large biomolecules with molecular weights up to 100,000,000 Daltons. Pulsed electric fields will be investigated in order to overcome many of the problems encountered in the fractionation of mixtures of large molecules by conventional capillary electrophoresis methods. The materials to be investigated include polysaccharides, carbohydrates, and proteoglycans. The techniques developed in this project will be used to separate large molecules of biochemical and technological significance