Peak broadening in microchip electrophoresis: a discussion of the theoretical background

A review on peak (band, zone) broadening in electromigration separation methods is presented, mainly covering articles published between the begining of 2000 and middle of 2002. Most attention is drawn to work dealing with microchip electrophoresis performed in micrototal analysis systems (microTAS) or the lab-on-a-chip, but many of the results are significant for capillary zone electrophoresis in general. The paper reviews the theoretical background of the peak dispersion due to the geometry of the separation channel, the transversal nonhomogeneity of the electroosmootic flow, and electromigration dispersion (sample overload) connected with the occurrence of the system zones (system peaks, system eigenpeaks).