Microchip Capillary Electrophoresis: An Introduction

Microchip capillary electrophoresis emerged in the early 1990s as an intresting and novel approach to the high-speed separation of biological compounds, including DNA and proteins. Since the early development in this area, growth in the research field has exploded and now includes chemists and engineers focused on developing new and better microchips, as well as biologists and biochemists who have begun to apply this exciting and still relatively new methodology to real-world problems. This chapter seeks to outline the historical development of microchip, the key elements of microchip capillary electrophoresis, and finally some of the important applications beign develop that utilize microchip capillary electrophoresis.