Analysis of small molecules for clinical diagnosis by capillary electrophoresis

The application of capillary electrophoresis (CE) for the analysis of small molecules in clinical research is growing steadily. Initial studies have dealt with separations of standards or compounds in clean matrices. However, later studies dealt with analysis of those compounds in serum, urine or tissues. Great progress has been accomplished in three areas of clinical interest: organic acids, amino acids and drug analysis. The analysis of these compounds by capillary electrophoresis has several distinct advantages: high resolution, simplicity, versatility and especially low operating costs. In many cases, the sample can be injected directly without complex pretreatment. Most of the described methods have been validated for their precision, linearity and accuracy. In forensic toxicology, the CE has been used for drug identification and as a complementary analytical method.