Capillary electrophoresis -Equipment

Capillary electrophoresis is a separative technique based on the migration of charged species in an electric field, according to their electrophoretic mobility.

It requires only very small quantities of sample and offers the advantage of high separation efficiency, low operating costs and low waste generation.

Today, it is recognized as a separative technique in its own right, and is integrated into numerous analytical platforms in the pharmaceutical, biomedical and environmental fields. It is applicable to the separation of a wide variety of compounds, from small inorganic ions to biological macromolecules (sugars, proteins, DNA, etc.).

An important part of its implementation is due to its relatively simple equipment, with few moving parts, making it suitable for miniaturization. Thanks to these features, its integration into lab-on-a-chip systems has generated considerable interest in the field of analysis.

In addition, ongoing instrumental developments have enhanced its performance and potential. In this respect, coupling with mass spectrometry can be seen as a decisive step forward in the expansion of this technique.

The aim of this article is to give an overview of the equipment used in capillary electrophoresis, detailing its main components and mentioning the most frequently used configurations and the many developments, particularly in the field of detection. An important part is devoted to the miniaturization of this technique.

This article is part of a series dedicated to capillary electrophoresis:

• "Capillary electrophoresis. Principle " [P 3 365] ;

• "Capillary electrophoresis. Apparatus " [P 3 366] ;

• "Capillary electrophoresis. Applications " [P 3 367] .