Microemulsion Electrokinetic Chromatography

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) is an attractive capillary electrophoretic technique in which a microemulsion is used as carrier electrolyte. Analytes may partition between the aqueous phase of the microemulsion and its oil droplets, which act as a pseudostationary phase. It is well suited for the separation of neutral analytes, but can also be employed for charged analytes. A single set of separation parameters may be sufficient for separation of a wide range of analytes. Fine-tuning of the separation may be achieved by addition of organic solvents to the microemulsion or by changes in the nature of the surfactant used for stabilization of the microemulsion. In this chapter, MEEKC conditions are summarized that have proven their reliability for routine purposes. Furthermore, microemulsions can be used for on-capillary preconcentration of analytes so that the problem of poor concentration sensitivity of ultraviolet detection in capillary electrophoresis is circumvented.