ABSTRACT
Forensic analyses often require the examination of samples that consist of complex chemical mixtures. Characterization of these mixtures for the purpose of providing legal evidence may involve the identification of individual chemical components. A variety of separation techniques ranging from simple two-phase extractions to instrumental methods are used in forensic science for this purpose. Two instrumental methods that can be used to examine liquid phase samples are high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and capillary electrophoresis (CE). These methods are particularly useful with samples that are nonvolatile and/or are thermally labile. This chapter provides the reader with a brief introduction to the theory and application of both HPLC and CE to forensic science. A comprehensive discussion of either method would take several volumes to cover. Individual chemical components of the sample are separated from each other as they are carried through the column based on differences in their interactions with the mobile phase and the column-packing material or stationary phase.
