Capillary electrophoresis

Capillary electrophoresis separates charged or polar substances inside a narrow capillary under an electric field. Differences in electrophoretic mobility and electroosmotic flow determine how quickly substances reach a detector.

Electrophoretic mobility: The velocity of a charged particle per unit electric-field strength in a specified medium. Differences in mobility make analytes migrate at different rates through the capillary.
Electrophoresis: The movement of charged particles through a medium under an electric field. Capillary electrophoresis confines this general separation process to a narrow tube.
Capillary gel electrophoresis: A capillary electrophoresis mode that separates molecules by size through a polymer or gel sieving medium. It adapts capillary formats to sizing DNA fragments and other macromolecules.
High-performance liquid chromatography: A liquid-separation technique that pumps a mobile phase through a packed column under high pressure. It separates compounds through stationary-phase interactions rather than primarily by electrophoretic mobility.
Electroosmotic flow: The movement of liquid relative to a charged surface under an applied electric field. Bulk buffer flow can carry analytes toward the detector, including those with opposite charge.
Capillary: A narrow tube with a small internal diameter, used to contain fluid or conduct a process. Its small bore supports efficient heat dissipation and narrow sample zones.
Micellar electrokinetic chromatography: A capillary separation mode using surfactant micelles as a moving pseudostationary phase. Micelles let the capillary separate neutral compounds as well as charged analytes.
Gas chromatography: A separation technique that carries vaporized compounds through a column in a gas mobile phase. It suits volatile analytes, whereas capillary electrophoresis generally uses an electrolyte solution.
Capillary zone electrophoresis: A capillary electrophoresis mode that separates analytes into zones according to their electrophoretic mobility. It is the standard mode for separating analytes in a uniform buffer.
Buffer solution: A solution that resists changes in pH when small amounts of acid or base are added. Its pH and composition affect analyte charge, conductivity, and migration.

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