Consumables for CE

A review of the expanding range of consumables available to capillary electrophoresists and why they are useful

Using Cyclodextrins to Achieve Chiral and Non-chiral Separations in Capillary Electrophoresis

Describing the theoretical background on how the separations occur, the operating approaches that can be taken and method development.

Optimization Approaches in the Routine Analysis of Monoclonal Anitbodies by Capillary Electrophoresis

Electrophoretic techniques, such as sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide (SDS-PAGE) and isoelectric focusing (IEF) gels, have traditionally been part of release testing in the biopharmaceutical industry. However, these slab gel methods are inconvenient and irreproducible because of the staining/destaining steps used in analyte detection, the use of toxic reagents and high intra- and inter-gel effective mobility variability.

The Application of Capillary Electrophoresis for Vaccine Release and Characterization

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is increasingly being used in vaccine analysis. Applications include vaccine quantification, purity assessment, process monitoring, characterization and nucleic acid analysis. CE has been used because it offers advantages over other techniques. Vaccine manufacturers such as Sanofi-Aventis, Merck and Wyeth are actively investigating the use of CE for vaccine analysis. While CE can be considered a mature technique, its application to vaccine release and characterization has been limited. It is difficult to ascertain if its use is expanding because there are still a small amount of publications, but given the inherent advantages of CE and the need for better analytical techniques in vaccine analysis, the application must be growing. This article illustrates some of the uses of CE in vaccine analysis.

Effects of Sample-dissolving Solvent and Sample Ionic Strength in Routine CE Operation

The ionic strength of a sample and the solvent used to dissolve it play a pivotal role in routine capillary electrophoresis (CE). The effects of these parameters can be very pronounced, ranging from improved separation and sensitivity to loss of resolution, shifting migration times, and even to equipment breakdown. CE practitioners should pay special attention to the sample-dissolving solvent and the ionic strength of the sample during method development, validation and routine operation.

Effects of Sample-dissolving Solvent and Sample Ionic Strength in Routine CE Operation

Sample diluent ionic strength, pH, organic solvent composition and viscosity can all have a significant impact on the performance of CE separation. It is, therefore, essential that the choice of solvent is optimized during method development. The optimized diluent should be fully specified in the method and used consistently in method validation and all subsequent applications of the method.

Buffer Preparation — Hints, Tips and Common Errors

Accurate preparation and correct selection of buffers is essential to obtain reproducible and consistent results in capillary electrophoresis (CE). A number of factors should be considered in buffer optimization, including the pKa of the buffering ion and the analyte as well as the molarity of the acid or base used in the adjusting procedure. Accurate recording of the precise reagents used and the procedures performed is necessary to prepare buffers consistently. "Poor reproducibility of results and poor quantitative precision will be attainable in CE assays without significant attention being paid to the preparation of buffers used."

PeakMaster — A Freeware Simulator of Capillary Zone Electrophoresis

The authors describe how this free downloadable software calculates and displays CZE separations after the user has entered sample and operations parameters. The underlying principles and mathematical basis are explained.

Partial-Filling Techniques for Affinity Capillary Electrophoresis to Probe Receptor-Ligand Interactions