THE USE OF CAPILLARY ZONE ELECTROPHORESIS TO MONITOR ALTERATIONS IN GLYCOPROTEIN MICROHETEROGENEITY

The applicability of capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) to monitor a lterations in glycoprotein microheterogeneity was investigated using b are fused silica capillaries. Human transferrin was analyzed as a mode l compound. The transferrin glycoforms which differ only in the number of sialic residues in the carbohydrate moiety were resolved by a bera te buffer containing putrescine. Alterations of the glycoform pattern were monitored after incubation with neuraminidase. Deglycosylation of the various glycoforms followed first-order kinetics. The respective rate constants were shown to increase with increasing number of sialic acids and increasing enzyme activity.