The interface of capillary electrophoresis with high performance Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry for biomolecule characterization.

The interfacing of capillary electrophoresis (CE) with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance-mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) and the factors which dictate obtainable performance (i.e., sensitivity, mass resolution, scan rate and duty cycle) are described. We demonstrate the current status of the technique with examples of capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and capillary isotachophoresis (CITP) with FTICR analyses of proteins and oligonucleotides, and describe current limitations on sensitivity and scan speed. The first on-line interfacing of capillary isoelectric focusing (CIEF) with FTICR is also demonstrated and shown to be effective for separating minor components of protein mixtures for on-line mass spectral analysis. Finally, the potential for greatly improved performance based upon recent advances in FTICR instrumentation and methods is briefly described.