CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS - THE STATE-OF-THE-ART IN METAL SPECIATION STUDIES

An overview of the state-of-the-art of capillary electrophoresis (CE) for metal speciation analysis is presented. Various CE separation appr oaches and detection modes applied are discussed. A comprehensive desc ription of reported methods to date in CE speciation studies of indivi dual metals in different oxidation states, metal complexes with inorga nic and organic ligands, oxoanions and organometallic compounds is dem onstrated. The potential of CE for characterisation of metal interacti ons with large molecules like humic substances and proteins is also de scribed. Several examples are presented to demonstrate CE's ability to solve real-world speciation problems. Further, the current strengths and limitations of CE with regard to speciation studies are discussed. The performance of CE is also critically evaluated in relationship to conventional chromatographic techniques used in metal speciation dete rmination. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.