High-Throughput Capillary ElectrophoresisMass Spectrometry: From Analysis of Amino Acids to Analysis of Protein Complexes

Recent advances in capillary electrophoresis–mass spectrometry (CE-MS) interfacing using porous tip is leading to commercializationof CE-MS with a sheathless interface for the first time. The new sheathless interface in conjunction with CE capillary coatingsusing self-coating background electrolytes (BGE) has significantly simplified CE-MS analysis of complex mixtures. CE-MS, withits high separation efficiency, compound identification capability, and ability to rapidly separate compounds with a widerange of mass and charge while consuming only nanoliters of samples, has become a valuable analytical technique for the analysisof complex biological mixtures. These advances have allowed a single capillary to analyze a range of compounds including aminoacids, their
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enantiomers, protein digests, intact proteins, and protein complexes. With these capabilities, CE-MS is poised to becomethe multipurpose tool of separation scientists. More recently, an eight-capillary CE in conjunction with an 8-inlet mass spectrometryhas allowed 8 CE-MS analyses to be performed concurrently, significantly increasing throughput.