High efficiency separation of microbial aggregates using capillary electrophoresis

Recent advances in the technique of capillary electrophoresis have demonstr ated fast, highly efficient separation of mixtures of intact microbes. This paper describes the application of this technique for the separation of mi crobial aggregates of Micrococcus luteus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, or Alca ligenes faecalis. The aggregates of these microbes were resolved into sever al highly efficient peaks with analysis limes under 10 min and efficiencies approaching 1 000 000 plates m(-1) in some cases. A reproducible relations hip was found between the electrophoretic mobility and the aggregation numb er or size of the cluster under a given set of experimental conditions. Oft en, cellular aggregation was reversible with brief immersion in an ultrasou nd bath. This reversibility was confirmed by Visual microscopy and electrop horetic data. (C) 2000 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Pu blished by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.