Recent progress in capillary electrophoresis of metal ions

Advances in the fundamental studies and methodology of capillary electropho resis (CE) as applied to metal ion analysis over the last two years are rev iewed, with the objective of providing the interested reader with a state-o f-the-art picture of technique's potentialities in the area. In particular, novel strategies for separation selectivity control and CE system innovati ons designed to enhance the detection sensitivity are described. In additio n, a brief overview of the primary metal analytes and samples for which the technique appears to be best suited is given. The current limitations of t he technique regarding most of ail the implementation for routine use are c onsidered along with the approaches on how they could be addressed. Finally , some pointers as to the likely trends in the future research are discusse d.