Capillary electrophoresis (CE) combines electrophoresis and high-performance liquid chromatography. CE takes place in a very thin, fused silica capillary tube with polyacrylamide or agarose gel (Polyacrylamide is the most commonly used gel). The ends of the capillary tube are placed in two buffer reservoirs, with the anode in one and the cathode in the other. A high-voltage power supply and cooling system are included.
Separated solutes are detected with this method as migration and separation occur instead of detection after separation is completed. An optical detector attached to the capillary detects solutes after separation while still in the capillary. The detector is linked to data collection and storage.
