Capillary electrophoresis with noncovalently bilayer-coated capillaries for stability study of allergenic proteins in simulated gastrointestinal fluids

A novel noncovalently bilayer-coated capillary using cationic polymer polybrene (PB) and anionic polymer (sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) as coatings was prepared. This PB–PSS coating showed good migration-time reproducibility for proteins and high stability in the range of pH 2–10 and in the presence of 1 M NaOH, acetonitrile and methanol. Capillary electrophoresis with PB–PSS coated capillaries was successfully applied to quantitatively investigate the stability of bovine serum albumin, ovomucoid, β-lactoglobulin and lysozyme in simulated gastrointestinal fluids. β-lactoglobulin A and β-lactoglobulin B were both stable in simulated gastric fluid with degradation percentages of 34.3% and 17.2% after 60 min of incubation, respectively. Bovine serum albumin, ovomucoid and lysozyme were stable in simulated intestinal fluid with degradation percentages of 17.7%, 23.4% and 22.8% after 60 min of incubation, respectively. The superiority of the proposed method over sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and capillary electrophoresis with untreated fused silica capillaries was demonstrated and emphasized.