Analytical microseparation devices

S. E. Gilbert, The future of liquid-phase microseparation devices in process analytical technology, in Micro Instrumentation for High Throughput Experimentation and Process Intensification - a Tool for PAT, M.V. Koch,... 

The Future of Liquid-phase Microseparation Devices in Process Analytical Technology... 

Capillary electrophoresis is an excellent microseparation technique that has been used for the separation of a wide diversity of different molecules." Its separation capabilities extend to ions, small molecules (such as amino acids), and large biomolecules (such as peptides, proteins, and nucleic acids). Indeed the human genome project owes its success, in part, to the use of CE for the separation of DNA bases. In the past, CE has been combined with detection devices such as ultraviolet (UV) and laser-induced fluorescence (LIE) spectrophotometers. The detection of the separated analytes is carried out on column by etching the capillary. Unfortunately, UV detection lacks sensitivity and not every compound of interest will absorb in the UV region of the spectmm. Detection using LIE is sensitive, however, the analytes of interest may require derivatization with a fluorescent tag or have an aromatic amino acid in their structure (e.g., proteins and peptides). An advantage of MS detection that neither UV nor LIE detection provides is the information necessary to directly determine the structure of the detected analyte(s). 

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