Open source capillary electrophoresis

Abstract

Open source paradigm is becoming widely accepted in scientific communities and open source hardware is finding its steady place in chemistry research. In this review article, we provide the reader with the most up-to-date information on open source hardware and software resources enabling the construction and utilization of an "open source capillary electrophoresis instrument". While CE is still underused as a separation technique, it offers unique flexibility, low-cost, and high efficiency and is particularly suitable for open source instrumental development. We overview the major parts of CE instruments, such as high voltage power supplies, detectors, data acquisition systems, and CE software resources with emphasis on availability of the open source information on the web and in the scientific literature. This review is the first of its kind, revealing accessible blueprints of most parts from which a fully functional open source CE system can be built. By collecting the extensive information on open source capillary electrophoresis in this review article, the authors aim at facilitating the dissemination of knowledge on CE within and outside the scientific community, fosters innovation and inspire other researchers to improve the shared CE blueprints.

Electromembrane extraction and capillary electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection: Multi‐extraction capabilities to analyses trace metals from saline samples

“…CE with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C 4 D) offers a great advantage over conventional analytical techniques, such as atomic absorption spectrophotometry, due to its compatibility with injections from L sample volumes. Besides, CE with C 4 D allows for simultaneous determination of trace metal and major inorganic cations in a very short time [21,29].…”

Analysis of inorganic cations and amino acids in high salinity samples by capillary electrophoresis and conductivity detection: Implications for in‐situ exploration of ocean worlds

“…As the name indicates, system for planetary exploration. CE-C 4 D is already a popular approach and has been employed for analysis of a wide range of ionic compounds, such as small inorganic species [13,14], amines [15], carboxylic acids [16,17], amino acids [18,19], pharmaceutical drugs [20,21] as well as a handful of neutral compounds like carbohydrates [22,23] and alcohols [24,25].…”

Silicon Photomultipliers as a Low-Cost Fluorescence Detector for Capillary Electrophoresis

“…[9][10][11] PMTs work using a photocathode housed within a vacuum environment to transduce light into an electrical signal. PMTs have high gain (10 [5][6][7][8][9] ) and maintain linearity over a large dynamic range, typically as many as 6 orders of magnitude. 10,12 For these reasons PMTs are commonly utilized in CE systems where cost is not a driving factor.…”

“…With the development of low-cost open-source CE setups, there is a desire for an inexpensive, open-source detector that can be customized according to the need of the instrument or project. 6 Silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) are significantly less expensive than PMTs but have similar gains (10 [5][6] ) and have been suggested for use as fluorescence detectors for low-cost CE instruments. 5,12 However, applications using SiPMs as a fluorescence detector in analytical instruments have only recently been explored.…”