ABSTRACT
This chapter will deal mainly with ACE investigations of antigen-antibody interactions. Following the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), most of these experiments are also identified as capillary electrophoresis immunoassays (CEIAs), CE-based immunoassays, or immunocapillary electrophoresis. Because of the expected audience, the focus of the chapter is more on the application aspect than on technical details. There are, for example, several successful attempts reported to use immobilized antibodies within the capillary to enhance the separation efficiency of structurally very similar antigens. Because these antigen-antibody interactions are implemented only for separation reasons, they are not covered in this chapter. Experiments using antibody substitutes with oligonucleotide nature, such as aptamers, will also not be described. On the other hand some special applications that may be directed to the future in this field are exemplified, like microchip-based assays and experiments with whole cells or viruses. Finally, the authors decided to include ACE examples dealing with proteins known to be influencing the immune system, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) proteins and the so-called immunophilins. The authors took care to include all relevant references. Still, some noteworthy investigations may have been overlooked. Therefore, readers more interested in this field are
referred to some excellent recent reviews (1-5). Also, it is always a good idea to research the review volumes annually released by Analytical Chemistry, Electrophoresis, or Journal of Chromatography.
