Abstract
This thesis presents a study of capillary electrochromatography chip with hydrophobic gradient stationary phase consist of carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) array of nano-channels. Driving by EOF (Electroosmotic flow),proteins entered the separation channel and were attracted by the modified MWCNTs surface and then separated according to their own characteristics. A human cell contains about 20,000 kinds of proteins anytime. So far the 2D Electrophoresis is the most efficient separating approach. The advantage of this approach is that specific protein can be observed by controlling specific pH range. However, a large area of gel is needed for high resolution. Analyzing and matching through mass spectrometry require long time. Two types of ionization source are commonly used in proteomics, MALDIand ESI. ESI usually combine with chromatography as LC-MS, after separation the substance go through ionizer directly. MALDI will obtain the mass information. But limited by the mechanism, substances have to mixed and crystallized with matrix individually. When the components’ concentrations wildly differ from each other, the rare signal will be sheltered. However, MALDI has advantages like easy operation, auto equipment for producing protein, increase efficiency, high sensitivity, etc. If we can simplify the step of crystallization, we can obtain more information from MALDI.