Beneficial aspects of the separation technique Capillary Electrophoresis for the biomedical, pharmaceutical and biochemical field

Ann Van Schepdael

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a separation technique based on the application of an electric field on a miniature separation vessel.

It has been around for several decades, showing promise in various fields and for a large variety of analyte molecules. Its beneficial aspects are the high separation efficiency and the miniature scale of the analysis, to name just a few. Together with complementary chromatographic and hyphenated techniques, it composes the set of analytical tools which researchers and professionals can use to achieve correct information about their mixtures and samples.

After a general introduction into the technique, the lecture will touch upon a few examples of the usefulness of CE in a number of fields.

For the biomedical field, a clinical case study related to the human enzyme cytochrome P450 4F3 will be presented. It highlights the use of CE to differentiate wildtype and diseased conditions, affecting the activity of the enzyme.

In the pharmaceutical field, the use of CE has evolved over the years. In the current situation, it mainly plays a role in the characterization of structurally complex biologicals, that are gaining in importance in recent years. Quality control of small molecule drugs can sometimes also benefit from CE.

As an example of the biochemical application of CE, its use in enzymatic studies will be highlighted. More specifically, a  recent study on the search for inhibitors of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B among Traditional Chinese Medicine points towards a few interesting natural products with potential in the treatment of diabetes.

The lecture will also briefly touch upon the fact that CE can be considered an environmentally friendly technique.