Micellar, aggregates electrokinetic chromatography

Polymeric micelles form stable pseudostationary phases with a critical micelle concentration of virtually zero (aggregation number of 1), and are tolerant of high organic solvent concentrations in the electrolyte solution. Mass transfer kinetics are slow compared with conventional surfactant micelles, and peak distortion from mass overloading is a problem for some polymer compositions. Preliminary studies indicate that polymeric surfactants are effective pseudostationary phases in micellar electrokinetic chromatography, but only a limited number of practical applications have been demonstrated, and uptake has been slow. 

In micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC), the added pseudostationary phase are micelles. The micelles are spherical aggregates of several molecules of a surface-active compound like sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The core of the SDS micelles is composed of entangled aliphatic chains, while the outer shell is formed by charged sulfate groups. 

Micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC or MECC) is a more versatile technique than CZE due to its ability to separate neutral as well as ionic species. The term chromatography is used because a surfactant added to the buffer solution forms spherical aggregates of molecules... 

In order to separate neutral compounds, Terabe et al. [13] added surfactants to the buffer electrolyte. Above their critical micellar concentration (cmc), these surfactants form micelles in the aqueous solution of the buffer electrolyte. The technique is then called Micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography, abbreviated as MECC or MEKC. Micelles are dynamic structures consisting of aggregates of surfactant molecules. They are highly hydrophobic in their inner structure and hydrophilic at the outer part. The micelles are usually... 

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