Over the last decade, high performance Capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) has emerged as a powerful and versatile separation technique that promises to rival high performance liquid chromatography when applied to the separation of both charged and neutral species. The high speed and high separation efficiency which can be attained using any of the various modes of HPCE has resulted in the increased use of the technique in a range of analytical environments. The procedures are, however, still in the early stages of development and several barriers remain to their adoption as the technique of choice for a range of analytical problems. One such barrier is the selection and optimization of the conditions required to achieve reproducible separations of analytes and it is in this area that this new book seeks to give assistance.
The book is written by an international team of authors, drawn from both academic and industrial users, and the manufacturers of instruments. At its heart are a number of tables, divided into specific application areas. These give details of published separations of a wide range of archetypal analytes, the successful separation conditions and the matrix in which they were presented. These tables are based on separations reported since 1992 and are fully referenced to the original literature. The tables are supported by discussions of the problems that a particular area presents and the strategies and solutions adopted to overcome them. The general areas covered are biochemistry, pharmaceutical science, bioscience, ion analysis, food analysis and environmental science.