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Capillary Electrophoresis Mass Spectrometry Approaches for Characterization of the Protein and Metabolite Corona Acquired by Nanomaterials

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Capillary separation: micellar electrokinetic chromatography.

Shigeru Terabe¹

¹Graduate School of Material Science, University of Hyogo, Kamigori, Hyogo 678-1297, Japan. terabe@gaia.eonet.ne.jp

Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry (Palo Alto, Calif.)

|July 20, 2010

Summary

Micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) separates neutral molecules using micelles in capillary electrophoresis (CE). This technique offers high-efficiency separation for small molecules with minimal sample and reagent use.

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Area of Science:

Analytical Chemistry
Separation Science

Background:

Micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) is a mode of capillary electrophoresis (CE).
MEKC enables the separation of electrically neutral analytes.
It requires adding ionic micelles to the running buffer without instrument modification.

Purpose of the Study:

To explain the separation principle of MEKC.
To highlight MEKC's utility for small molecule separation.
To introduce methods for improving detection sensitivity.

Main Methods:

Utilizes differential migration of micelles and buffer under electrophoresis.
Relies on analyte-micelle interactions for separation.
Incorporates on-line sample preconcentration techniques like sweeping.

Main Results:

Achieves high-efficiency separation of neutral and charged small molecules.
Provides rapid separation with minimal sample and reagent consumption.
Demonstrates the principle's similarity to chromatographic separation.

Conclusions:

MEKC is a versatile CE technique for diverse small molecules.
The method is efficient, fast, and economical.
Preconcentration techniques enhance its analytical capabilities.