The high-sensitivity capabilities of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection continuously promote the development of various labels with different fluorescence properties. However, this strategy also requires the adaptation of existing detection systems to suit the excitation and emission characteristics of novel fluorescent tags. In this study, we adapted the LIF detector of the commercial capillary electrophoresis instrument to the specific fluorescence spectra of 2-aminoacridone labeled human milk oligosaccharides. An external solid-state laser with a wavelength of 405 nm was connected to the commercial capillary electrophoresis instrument via a simple 3D-printed laser-to-light-guide adapter, and different optical filter setups were compared based on the signal-to-noise ratio. The optimized setup provided detection limits as low as 0.27 to 0.34 nM, corresponding to injection of 3.4 to 4.6 attomoles of 2-aminoacridone labeled oligosaccharides. These findings show that the optimized laser and filter configuration can enhance the sensitivity of electrophoretic separation by several orders of magnitude. In addition, the presented setup can be utilized as a guide for coupling different lasers to the commercial instrument.

Department of Analytical Chemistry Faculty of Chemistry Jagiellonian University Kraków Poland

Department of Chemistry Faculty of Science Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic

Department of Food Chemistry and Nutrition Faculty of Pharmacy Jagiellonian University Medical College Kraków Poland

Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences Jagiellonian University Kraków Poland

Institute of Analytical Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences Brno Czech Republic

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