It has been shown that non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) can pro
vide improved separations in comparison to those obtained using conventiona
l CE under aqueous conditions [1] (ACE). Previous work carried out in our l
aboratories involving initial investigations into the technique have been r
eported [2]. Based on the findings of that work it was possible to separate
a variety of basic pharmaceuticals from selected impurities and to obtain
the successful separation of some hydrophobic sulphonic acids. The successf
ul coupling of NACE to mass spectrometry (NACE-MS) has also been demonstrat
ed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.