Capillary zone electrophoresis assay of the uridine diphosphate N-acetylmuramyl peptide precursors and the disaccharide pentapeptide derivative of bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan.

Uridine diphosphate N-acetylmuramyl peptide (EDP-MurNac) precursors and disaccharide pentapeptide of bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan were extracted from Enterobacter colacae cells and examined by capillary zone electrophoresis. Five UDP-MurNac derivatives with dibromopropamidine isethionate as the internal standard, and disaccharide pentapeptide with pyrimethamine as the internal standard, were successfully and rapidly analysed by using a fused-silica capillary and sodium phosphate buffer in methanol as the organic modifier at appropriate pH. Accurate quantitation was also achieved. The method provides the potential to investigate quantitatively the effect of antibacterials on the biosynthesis of peptidoglycan and to determine the relative cellular concentrations of the murein precursors within the cell cycle.