Lowering the UV absorbance detection limit in capillary zone electrophoresis using a single linear photodiode array detector

A new approach for lowering the UV absorbance detection limit in capillary electrophoresis is presented. This approach involves the use of a photodiode array in which each of the diodes in the array is treated as an independent detector. Over the course of a run, therefore, an electropherogram is generated for each diode in the array. Averaging the electropherograms generated from 1500 diodes in a diode array resulted in a signal-to-noise ratio 85 times that of an electropherogram generated from any one diode in the array. These signal-to-noise improvements are discussed, and the detection limits are compared to the detection limits obtained from a commercial single-point detector. The array detector improves the detection limit by a factor of 3.8 (+/-0.4).