Temperature effects in capillary electrophoresis 2: Some theoretical calculations and predictions

The dependence of the temperature excess, θ, in the capillary bore on the applied power, EI, is considered for both natural and forced convective cooling, using classical heat equations. The dependence of θ on EI is found to be linear for forced convection but not for natural convection. Use of forced convective cooling and capillaries of large outer diameter reduces θ. Direct comparison of the performance of different systems can be achieved by consideration of θ. Column performance is ultimately limited by thermal gradients across the capillary bore.