The ABRF Symposium held in conjunction with the Tenth Protein Society Meeting took place in San Jose, CA on Saturday, August 3, 1996. Approximately 200 people attended this symposium on Capillary Electrophoresis and Mass Spectrometry.
Flow rates vary from zero to hundreds of nanoliters per minute.
However, limitations on sample injection volumes create significant demands on detection technology. An advantage of on-line separations is that a large number of spectra can be used to detect weak signals. Ordinarily, the CE separation moves charged particles to the electrospray component of the MS faster than the electrospray unit can produce gas phase ions. Smaller diameter capillaries do not lead to increased sensitivity because analytes must form droplets to elute from the capillary. Electroosmotic flow is much more stable if the tubing is etched to form a conical end.