'Periodica Polytechnica Budapest University of Technology and Economics'
Abstract
High-performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE), among other
analytical
techniques (e.g. acid polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, sodium dodecyl
sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and reversed-phase
high-performance liquid chromatography) [1]-[4] is more and more
widely used also in the field of separation of cereal proteins
[5]-[18]. HPCE
is versatile, easy to automate, does not need toxic reagents or long analysis
time, but requires only small sample size, small amount of buffer and
provides high-resolution separations. So this analytical technique is
particularly applicable for studying the fine structure of the composition of
wheat proteins.
Capillary electrophoresis has been used at our department for the
determination of the fine structure of different wheat protein fractions
[19]. Differences between the various wheat cultivars and changes during
grain maturation process have also been studied using a home-built capillary
electrophoretic system [20]. The same system has been used to investigate
the electrophoretic properties of a gliadin analogous protein (BM180 - a
basement membrane protein with a potential autoantigen role) [21].
The more strictly controllable nature of an automated system (especially the
temperature control of the capillary) allows the use of higher voltages, so
separation time decreases and resolution increases. Purchasing an automated
capillary electrophoretic system we gained an opportunity to compare the two
electrophoretic systems also in the field of wheat protein analyses.
The aim of present work was to give an impression of the work done by
capillary electrophoresis at our department