SEPARATION AND QUANTIFICATION OF PECTINS USING CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS - A PRELIMINARY-STUDY

A rapid method for the analysis of the degree of esterification (DE) o f pectin is presented. The migration time of pectin in capillary elect rophoresis (CE) is a function of the DE, and separation of pectins wit h different DE values has been demonstrated. Using the average charge per residue, z = -(100-DE)/100, a linear relationship is found between pectin charge and mobility. For a fixed charge mobility increases wit h decreasing ionic strength, but does not depend significantly on whet her the pectin charge distribution is blockwise or random. This CE met hod can be used for the quantitative detection of aqueous solutions of pectins in the concentration range 0.5-5 mg ml(-1) using a 50 mM, pH 7.0 phosphate background electrolyte and u.v. detection at 192 nm. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.