Packed capillary liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry in the pharmaceutical sciences: Characterization of protein mixtures

Abstract

AbstractThe coupling of packed capillary liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry has yielded an instrument capable of generating molecular weight information from very complex natural protein mixtures. The use of the packed capillary liquid chromatography columns offers two principle advantages over conventional liquid chromatography columns: high separation efficiencies and very low mobile phase flow rates (100 nL min−1). The low mobile phase flow rates permit the use of a relatively high ionic strength buffer (0.1% trifluoroacetic acid), While delivering a very low mass flux of the buffer to the mass spectrometer.