Studying molecular interactions via capillary electrophoresis and microscale thermophoresis: A review

The process of choosing the most proper technique for studying the molecular interactions is based on critical factors such as instrumentation complexity, automation, experimental procedures, analysis time, consumables, and cost-value. This review has tracked the use of affinity capillary electrophoresis (ACE) and microscale thermophoresis (MST) techniques in the evaluation of molecular binding among different molecules during the 5 years 2016-2021. ACE has proved to be an attractive technique for biomolecular characterization with high resolution efficiency where small variations in several controlling factors can much improve such efficiency compared to other analytical techniques. Meanwhile, MST has proved its higher sensitivity for smaller amounts of complex non-purified biosamples without affecting its robustness while providing high through output. However, the main motivation to review both techniques in the proposed review was their capability to carry out all experiments without the need for immobilizing one interacting partner, besides a great flexibility in the use of buffering systems. The proposed review demonstrates the importance of both techniques in different areas of life sciences. Moreover, the recent advances in exploiting ACE and MST in other research interests have been discussed.

Automated summary

This review evaluates the applications of affinity capillary electrophoresis (ACE) and microscale thermophoresis (MST) techniques in studying molecular binding from 2016 to 2021. ACE has demonstrated high resolution efficiency for biomolecular characterization, with the potential for significant improvement compared to other analytical techniques. On the other hand, MST has shown higher sensitivity for smaller non-purified biosamples without compromising robustness and provides high throughput. The main motivation for this review is the ability of both techniques to carry out experiments without immobilizing one interacting partner, as well as the flexibility in buffering system usage. The review highlights the importance of these techniques in various areas of life sciences, and discusses recent advances in utilizing ACE and MST in other research interests.