Determination of the inorganic ion composition of rat airway surface fluid by capillary electrophoresis: direct sample injection to allow multiple analyses from nanoliter volumes.

The pulmonary airways are covered by a layer of airway surface fluid (ASF) which is typically < 30 microm in thickness. ASF composition is an important factor in the pathogenesis of several lung diseases including cystic fibrosis. Because of the very small volume of ASF, it is difficult to determine ASF composition, Particularly for inorganic ions, since sampling by lavage is not suitable. With nanoliter injected volumes, capillary electrophoresis (CE) is ideally suited to ASF analysis. We have developed a novel technique using separate sampling and injection capillaries whereby submicroliter volumes of ASF (typically approximately 100 nL) can be collected from airways and then analyzed by CE. Cations (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+) and anions (including Cl-) are quantitated (RSD < 10%) using indirect UV detection. In healthy rat lungs, ASF was found to be hypotonic, consistent with observations made in human airways. This technique has been developed using rats, which have not previously been studied because their small size prohibits the use of other sampling techniques.