On-line capillary electrophoresis-electrospray mass spectrometry for the analysis of pharmaceuticals

The on-line coupling of capillary electrophoresis (CE) with mass spectromet ry using the electrospray-ionization mode (ESI-MS) is a promising combinati on of two analytical techniques. While CE provides high separation efficien cy per unit of time, mass spectrometry affords high sensitivity and selecti vity as well as molecular structural information. Three different projects are under way in our laboratory and are presented to illustrate the potenti al of CE-ESI-MS in pharmaceutical analysis. First, the determination of Ecs tasy and other amphetamine derivatives in urine samples is reported. Second , the analysis of secondary metabolites, present in plant extracts such as tropane alkaloids, is depicted. Furthermore, the enantioselective analysis of pharmaceutical drugs and metabolites in human plasma is also described.