ABSTRACT
The field of electrophoretic interaction analysis has been rejuvenated by the advent of capillary electrophoresis (CE) and a wide number of both qualitative and quantitative binding studies have appeared using this technique. The experimental set-up depends on the interaction kinetics of the system but the fundamental requirement is that the electrophoretic mobility of complexed molecules is different from the mobility of free molecules. In free-solution CE the mobility of an analyte is chiefly dependent on its charge/mass ratio at the pH of the electrophoresis buffer but is also influenced by other parameters including shape, charge distribution, and hydrophobicity. Strong interactions are typically characterized by electrophoretic analysis of pre-equilibrated samples. Electrophoresis may under the right circumstances be considered an advantageous alternative because reversible interactions that take place during electrophoresis and influence the separation patterns can make it possible to identify and quantitate binding phenomena.
