Capillary electrophoresis is a separation method performed by applying a high voltage along a capillary. All ions (positive and negative) are pulled through the capillary in the same direction by the electroosmotic flow. The analytes separate as they travel along the capillary because of differences in their ionic mobility and are detected near the outlet of the capillary.
Contactless conductivity detection can be used for virtually all charged species: inorganic anions and cations, as well as organic ions, such as carboxylic acids, amines, amino acids, peptides, proteins, DNA fragments, antibiotics and many other pharmaceutical compounds. Tagging or other modification of the analytes is usually NOT required, while limits of detection are often comparable to, or sometimes even better, than UV-visible absorption techniques