Application of chemometric experimental designs in capillary electrophoresis: a review

Various chemometric experimental designs have been employed for the optimisation of capillary electrophoresis (CE) methods. Similar designs have been utilised in the assessment of the robustness of CE methods. The designs employed include central composites, fractional factorials, Plackett-Burman, simplex and overlapping-resolution mapping. Optimisation studies have largely concentrated on the use of these designs on selection of the optimal electrolyte composition. The robustness testing studies performed have involved the use of screening designs to identify the critical parameters affecting responses such as migration times and resolution. Further designs such as central composites have then been employed to set method limits following robustness studies. It is concluded that the use of experimental designs and statistical data evaluation in conjunction with personal computer-controlled CE autosamplers and instruments are of great benefit in the optimisation and robustness evaluation of CE methods.