Multiplexed capillary isoelectric focusing increases efficiency in protein measurements

The Springer journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (ABC) has chosen Oluwatosin O. Dada (34) as the recipient of its Best Paper Award 2010.  Dada is the lead author of a paper in ABC on capillary isoelectric focusing.  The award, accompanied by 1,000 euros, was created by Springer to help exceptional young scientists establish their research careers.  The ABC Best Paper Award has been given since 2005.

Capillary isoelectric focusing is an interesting technique for the characterization of proteins.  However, multiplexing capillary isoelectric focusing is a daunting task.  Dr. Dada’s significant contribution to this technology is the development of a state-of-the-art tool for high-throughput capillary isoelectric focusing.  The performance of this technology is stunning:  It provides the highest throughput isoelectric focusing analysis ever reported, the highest sensitivity ever reported for a high-throughput instrument, and the highest resolution separation ever reported for capillary isoelectric focusing.  The technology will find wide application, including characterization of recombinant and therapeutic proteins, the diagnosis of disease, and the study of systems biology.

Dr. Dada received his BSc in industrial chemistry in 2001 from Olabisi Onabanjo University in Nigeria.  He moved to the United States in 2004, where he received his PhD in analytical chemistry from Utah State University in 2008.  He then spent two years at the University of Washington in Seattle as a postdoctoral research associate.  Currently, he holds a research assistant professor position at the University of Notre Dame, USA, where he continues his research on capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence and photothermal instrumentation for bioanalysis.

Prof. Aldo Roda, Editor of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, said, “There is a highly competitive effort underway in the scientific community to improve the analytical performance of isoelectric focusing (IEF) as a tool for protein separation and concentration.  Several groups have investigated the miniaturization of cIEF and the integration of cIEF to a microchip format.  With this paper, Dada and co-workers offer us new analytical approaches to resolving the ongoing problem of time-consuming procedures.”

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry is an international journal dealing with all aspects of analytical and bioanalytical sciences.  The journal covers all fields of pure and applied analytical chemistry and bioanalysis, including topics at their interfaces with life and health sciences, engineering and materials sciences, environmental science, earth sciences and others.  With an Impact Factor of 3.480, ABC now belongs to the top six journals in the ISI category “Chemistry, Analytical” for 2009.

Springer (www.springer.com) is a leading global scientific publisher of books and journals, delivering quality content through innovative information products and services.  Springer is part of the publishing group Springer Science+Business Media.  The group publishes around 2,000 journals and more than 6,500 new books a year, primarily in the science, technology and medicine (STM) sector, as well as the largest STM eBook Collection worldwide. 

The article “Capillary array isoelectric focusing with laser-induced fluorescence detection” is freely available online on SpringerLink at http://www.springerlink.com/content/681x271l58435h58/