Capillary Electrophoresis: Basic Principles

Capillary Electrophoresis (CE) is a powerful separation and analysis technique that has been rapidly progressing since it was first introduced. The application range of CE is so diverse that it ranges from small analytes to large and complex macromolecules. This chapter aims to provide a deep understanding of the basic principles of CE. The first part of the chapter involves the theoretical basis, instrumentation, and separation mechanism of CE. The second part focuses on capillary electrophoretic separation modes and the third part describes the detection methods in CE. The fourth and final part covers capillary electrophoretic strategies for specific analyte groups.

Keywords: Capillary electrophoresis, CEC, CGE, Chiral separation, Contactless conductivity detector, CZE, Indirect detection, LIF, MEKC, Proteins, Sample stacking, Small anions, Small organic acids.