The UNC Proteomics Core receives CFAC funding to acquire a 908 Devices ZipChip Capillary Electrophoresis System.
Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a microfluidic technology that separates a variety of analytes from different matrices based on size and charge. The 908 Devices ZipChip uses a combination of CE and electrospray ionization enabling up-front separation coupled with mass spectrometry analysis. There are several advantages of ZipChip compared to liquid chromatography (LC), which is traditionally coupled to mass spectrometers, including: reduced sample amount requirements, fewer buffer component restrictions and faster analysis time.
ZipChip is especially powerful combined with the UNC Proteomics Core’s latest mass spectrometer, Thermo QExactive HF Biopharma. This instrument features an extended mass range option to allow for high-resolution intact mass analysis of large biomolecules, including antibody therapeutics. This is the only mass spectrometer on campus with this capability. By operating ZipChip in native mode, the Proteomics Core is able to determine specific protein variants, such as glycoforms, in a single sample. Not only will this new platform aid in antibody characterization, but will also help structural biologists determine with high mass accuracy the molecular weight of their protein of interest. Additional applications the Proteomics Core is investigating include: oligomer determination, post-translational modification analysis of intact proteins, top-down proteomics, and peptidomics.
Please visit the UNC Michael Hooker Proteomics Center website for more information, or contact the Facility Director, Laura Herring .