A SIMPLE MEANS TO INCREASE ABSORBENCY DETECTION SENSITIVITY IN CAPILLARY ZONE ELECTROPHORESIS

Up to a threefold gain in sensitivity without loss of separation efficiency can be achieved by the simple expedient of connecting a larger diameter capillary at the measurement point. This is unique to electroosmotically pumped systems. Theoretical considerations are outlined and experimental verification is presented. With measurement performed by presently available commercial absorbance detectors designed for on-column detection, the gain in detectabilities can be very substantial when capillaries smaller than 75 mum in bore are used for separation.