Quantitative applications and validation of the resolution of enantiomers by capillary electrophoresis.

The separation and quantitation of enantiomers is an important application of capillary electrophoresis. This paper reviews the performance and validation of capillary electrophoretic methods for this application. Limits of detection of < 0.1% are shown for determinations of minor enantiomer levels. Application areas include enantiomeric purity testing of pharmaceuticals and herbicides, reaction rate monitoring, stability testing, and clinical analysis. It is concluded that the number of quantitative application areas will undoubtedly expand as capillary electrophoresis becomes more widely established as an alternative and complement to high-performance liquid chromatography.