A system coupling capillary electrophoresis (CE) with a laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) system for the identification of Salmonella enteritidis was developed. Addition of an appropriate amount of sodium alginate and NaCl to the running buffer made it possible to obtain a reproducible sharp peak. Two fluorescent staining methods using a cell-permeable nucleic acid stain and a salmonellae-specific polyclonal antibody were adapted to the system. The CE^LIF successfully detected as few as three cells per injection from a pure culture of S. enteritidis. The CE^LIF system can be conveniently used for rapid and highly sensitive identification of S. enteritidis. ß