“microchip electrophoresis,” with respect to “profiling of aβ peptides in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with alzheimer’s disease”

Abstract

Aggregation of beta-amyloid peptides especially Aβ1-42 in amyloid plaques is one of the major neuropathological events in Alzheimer’s disease. This event is normally accompanied by a relative reduction of the concentration of Aβ1-42 in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patient developing the signs of Alzheimer’s disease. Here, we describe methods for isolation and for microchip gel electrophoresis of Aβ peptides in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic chip. The method was applied to compare the relative concentration of Aβ1-42 with other Aβ peptides, for example, Aβ 1-40 in CSF. In order to increase the sensitivity of detection, Aβ peptides in the CSF samples were first captured and concentrated using magnetic beads coated with specific anti-Aβ antibodies.