A NOVEL-APPROACH TO ION SEPARATIONS IN SOLUTION - SYNCHRONIZED CYCLIC CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS (SCCE)

A novel concept for ion separation is presented. Repeated column switching in capillary electrophoresis allows for the elimination of unwanted sample components, and for the separation of species having very similar mobilities. Theoretical considerations predict good separation efficiencies, e.g., high plate numbers per volt. Using micromachining techniques, a planar glass structure has been fabricated, composed of four capillaries of 20 mm length arranged in a square. Laser fluorescence detection is used in the detection scheme. To move a component around one cycle, 1 min is needed when applying 2.5 kV. A demonstration of the peak band broadening after several cycles and a separation example are given.