CE separation approaches for combinations of anthracyclines and taxanes

For the first time the versatility of CE is demonstrated for the separation of different types of anticancer drugs - anthracyclines and taxanes simultaneously. The use of these drugs in combination therapy for cancer has sparked interest in the development of methods for potential application. The simultaneous analysis of anthracyclines and taxanes can significantly increase a sample throughput of a clinical laboratory. The study shows the potential of CE for such a challenge: anthracyclines and taxanes were separated by CZE, MEKC and MEEKC. The MEEKC method was successfully applied to these compounds for the first time and was characterised by very short separation time, high efficiencies of peaks and was proven to be generic for the separation of different combinations of anthracyclines and taxanes. This separation approach could be highly beneficial for clinical analysis if applied with a sensitive detection system. MEKC and high-speed MEEKC methods were proven to show good potential in their application to plasma samples.