Surface sampling capillary electrophoresis–mass spectrometry for a direct chemical characterization of tissue and blood samples

Abstract

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a powerful separation tool for non-targeted analysis of chemically complex samples, such as blood, urine, and tissue. However, traditionally CE requires samples in solution for analysis, which limits information on analyte distribution and heterogeneity in tissue. The recent development of surface sampling CE-mass spectrometry (SS-CE-MS) brings these advantages of CE to solid samples and enables chemical mapping directly from the tissue surface without laborious sample preparation. Here, we describe developments of SS-CE-MS to increase reproducibility and stability for metabolite, lipid, and protein extraction from tissue sections and dried blood spots.Additionally, we report the first electrokinetic sequential sample injection for high throughput analysis. We foresee that the wide molecular coverage from a distinct tissue region in combination with higher throughput will provide novel information on biological function and dysfunction.

Capillary Electrophoresis: A Three-Year Literature Review

“…Therefore, careful consideration of the capillary surface is crucial in achieving reliable and reproducible results in CE analysis. Capillary coating is a commonly used strategy in CE research as it can offer highly stable EOF and prevent analyte adsorption onto the capillary inner wall, resulting in improved separation efficiency and peak quality. − …”