METHODS FOR THE ESTIMATION OF BINDING CONSTANTS BY CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) has developed into a particularly effec tive means to determine apparent equilibrium constants for molecular a ssociation in solution (e.g., to micelles, cyclodextrins. antibiotics, proteins, RNA, DNA, etc.). The various experimental, graphical and ma thematical approaches for determining association constants are review ed. In CE, association constants can be calculated because there is a relationship between substrate concentration and the measured electrop horetic mobility of the solute. Most of the approaches for obtaining a ssociation constants by CE are conceptually and mathematically related to one another, Likewise, they are analogous to many spectroscopic te chniques that are used for obtaining association constants. The advant ages, limitations and proper use of the various CE approaches are exam ined.