Nonaqueous Capillary Electrophoresis

Electrophoresis is a separation technique that is normally performed in an aqueous environment. This is due to the fact that the separation mechanism is based on the difference in migration rate of charged species in an electric field. Species (ions/molecules or particles) with a difference in their charge over size ratio will exhibit a difference in migration rate. Most charged species are fairly soluble in aqueous media and thus water is the most obvious solvent for electrophoresis. However, in a number of nonaqueous solvent systems, it is possible to obtain sufficient conductivity to perform electrophoresis. If such systems are utilized with the technique of capillary electrophoresis, a number of advantages compared to aqueous systems are obtained in the separation of small molecules.