Capillary electrophoresis characteristics

Solutes that do not absorb UV/Vis radiation or undergo fluorescence can be detected by other detectors. Table 12.8 provides a list of detectors used in capillary electrophoresis along with some of their important characteristics. 

CEC is often inappropriately presented as a hybrid method that combines the capillary column format and electroosmotic flow employed in high-performance capillary electrophoresis with the use of a solid stationary phase and a separation mechanism, based on specific interactions of solutes with the stationary phase, characteristic of HPLC. Therefore CEC is most commonly implemented by means typical of both HPLC (packed columns) and CE (use of electrophoretic instrumentation). To date, both columns and instrumentation developed specifically for CEC remain scarce. 

With capillary electrophoresis (CE), another modern primarily analytically oriented separation methodology has recently found its way into routine and research laboratories of the pharmaceutical industries. As the most beneficial characteristics over HPLC separations the extremely high efficiency leading to enhanced peak capacities and often better detectability of minor impurities, complementary selectivity profiles to HPLC due to a different separation mechanism as well as the capability to perform separations faster than by HPLC are frequently encountered as the most prominent advantages. On the negative side, there have to be mentioned detection sensitivity limitations due to the short path length of on-capillary UV detection, less robust methods, and occasionally problems with run-to-run repeatability. Nevertheless, CE assays have now been adopted by industrial labs as well and this holds in particular for enantiomer separations of chiral pharmaceuticals. While native cyclodextrins and their derivatives, respectively, are commonly employed as chiral additives to the BGEs to create mobility differences for the distinct enantiomers in the electric field, it could be demonstrated that cinchona alkaloids [128-130] and in particular their derivatives are applicable selectors for CE enantiomer separation of chiral acids [19,66,119,131-136]. 

This chapter deals with the validation of capillary electrophoresis (CE) methods. It describes the various validation characteristics, namely accuracy, precision, specificity, detection limit, quantitation limit, linearity, and range in accordance with the official guidelines. Practical aspects related to the calculation of these parameters and factors affecting them in CE analysis have also been described. Validation requirements have been described according to the goal of the method. The chapter contains numerous tables and diagrams to illustrate these ideas. It also covers other related aspects such as instrument qualification, revalidation, and method transfer. 

The use of organic solvents in nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis not only increases the solubility of the solutes, but also allows one to control important characteristics of the separation. For instance, the solvent properties affect the acid-base behavior of the analytes on a wider scale than... 

Because of the small amounts of sample that are usually obtained, coupled GC-MS is the method of choice for analysis of volatile pheromones. The analysis of the less-volatile lipids and polar pheromone components may require derivatization and microchemical tests, both to improve chromatographic characteristics and to provide information about the structures. It is likely that chromatographic techniques with high separation power and high sensitivity for polar compounds, such as coupled capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry, will prove useful for analysis of spider extracts in future studies. 

EC detection is a promising alternative for capillary electrophoresis microchips due to its inherent characteristics, allowing a proper miniaturisation of the devices and compatibility with the fabrication processes, in case of an integrated detection. Moreover, the low cost associated permit the employment of disposable elements. As the EC event occurs on the surface of electrodes and the decrease in size usually results in new advantages (see Chapter 32), the possibilities of incorporating EC detectors are broad. The simplicity of the required instrumentation, portable in many cases, suit well with the scaling-down trend. Moreover, as the sample volume in conventional micro-channel devices is less than 1 nL, a very highly sensitive detector should be constructed to analyse even modest concentrations of sample solutions. Since sensitivity is one of the accepted characteristics of EC detection EC-CE microchips approach to the ideal analytical devices. 

Leland and Powell also studied ECL obtained from reaction of [(bpy)3Ru]3+ with trialkylamines [47], Since the mechanism involves an electron transfer from the amine to Ru3+, there exists an inverse relationship between the first ionization potential of the amine and ECL intensity. The relative intensity of [(bpy)3Ru]2+ ECL was found to be ordered tertiary > secondary > primary. Quaternary ammonium ions and aromatic amines do not produce ECL with Ru(II) diimine complexes. Brune and Bobbitt subsequently reported the detection of amino acids by [(bpy)3Ru]2+ ECL [28,29], Employing capillary electrophoresis for separation, the presence of various amino acids can be detected directly by reaction with [(bpy)3Ru]3+ generated in situ with up to femtomo-lar sensitivity and with a selectivity for proline and leucine over other amino acids. The formation of an amine radical cation intermediate is characteristic of proposed mechanisms of both aliphatic amines and amino acids. 

Chu Q, Fu L, Guan Y and Ye J, Determination and differentiation of Flos chrysanthemum based on characteristic electrochemical profiles by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection. J Agric Food Chem 52 7828-7833 (2004). 

The advancement of modern biochemistry and developments in micro- and macromolecular separations have been intimately linked. Capillary electrophoresis offers major advantages over other separation techniques, including speed and resolving power. The potential of capillary electrophoresis seems so vast that it will significantly complement the technology of high-performance liquid chromatography. However, because of unique characteristics of capillary electrophoresis, it will also... 

The quality of a calibration also depends on the quality of the reference samples used. Glucuronic acid is a particular example the enzymatic method for this analysis is not reliable in that it lacks robustness. This problem has not been identified in the literature and is probably linked to non-identified matrix effects. The first FTIR calibrations were carried out using the enzymatic method as a reference and, even though gluconic acid has highly qualitative absorption characteristics, the results obtained by FTIR were unreliable. Subsequent calibrations carried out using more reliable methods such as capillary electrophoresis as a reference technique have resulted in FTIR analyses of high quality in terms of precision and accuracy. 

This technique has proven to be a powerful separation technique for the separation of macromolecules, such as antibodies, for two reasons the near flat plug flow profile and the small diffusion constant of the antibodies. These characteristics eliminate band broadening. With both superior separation power and high detection sensitivity, capillary electrophoresis (CE) can separate free Ab and Ag from bound Ab and Ag rapidly and is suitable for immunoassays. CE can combine immunologic recognition with on-line quantitation, microscale... 

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