Pulsed UV laser-induced stationary capillary vibration for highly sensitive and direct detection of capillary electrophoresis

A stationary wave of the capillary vibration effect was successfully induced by a series of short laser pulses. This wave could be applied to highly sensitive detection of capillary electrophoresis as well as the already reported capillary vibration induced by an intensity-modulated CW laser (CVL effect). Generally, pulses with much shorter width than the period of the natural frequency of the vibrating system cannot induce a standing vibration. However, utilizing the time constant of CVL determined by heat dissipation time, we found conditions which could induce a stable stationary wave of the capillary by a series of nanosecond light pulses. We used the KrF excimer laser operated at 248 mn with a pulse width of 60 ns and output of similar to 10 mu J/pulse as the CVL excitation source and applied it to highly sensitive detection of nonderivatized amino acids at the femtomole level. The sensitivity was at least 2 orders of magnitude superior to that of a commercially available UV absorbance detector. This technique extends the CVL's spectral regions. For example, in the UV region, where many biological materials have significant absorption bands, this technique will extend analytical applications in capillary electrophoresis by eliminating the need for a derivatization process.