Simultaneous electrokinetic and hydrodynamic injection with on-line sample concentration via micelle to solvent stacking in micellar electrokinetic chromatography

Simultaneous electrokinetic and hydrodynamic injection (SEHI) of organic cations (tricyclic antidepressant and beta blocker drugs) with on-line sample concentration using micelle to solvent stacking (MSS) was studied in micellar electrokinetic chromatography. Compared to conventional injection, >300-fold improvements in signals were obtained by hydrodynamic injection. However, with SEHI the amount of sample ions introduced into the capillary was increased which afforded a higher gain of up to 4000-fold without compromise to separation efficiency. The electrokinetic injection at negative polarity (anode at the detector end) introduced the micelle bound analytes. The hydrodynamic injection also maintained the MSS boundary inside the capillary. The stability of the MSS boundary affected SEHI where mild conditions that were low voltage as well as pressure injection were desired. The limits of detection were in the range from 0.6–4.2 ng mL⁻¹. A strategy for optimization was described and the method was applied to the ng mL⁻¹ analysis of spiked wastewater after simple dilution and centrifugation.     

Measurement of carnosine, homocarnosine and anserine by FASI capillary electrophoresis UV detection: applications on biological samples

A field amplified sample injection (FASI) capillary electrophoresis method with UV detection was developed for the separation and detection of carnosine-related peptides carnosine (Car), anserine (Ans) and homocarnosine (Hcar). The imidazole dipeptides were baseline-separated within 10 min by using 50 mmol/L Tris phosphate pH 2.2 as running buffer. The samples were diluted in water and directly injected on the capillary without complex cleanup and/or sample derivatization procedures. Using the electrokinetic injection, a sensitivity improvement of about 500-fold was achieved without any loss of separation efficiency if compared to the conventional sample injection. The detection limits for carnosine, anserine, and homocarnosine were between 0.4 and 0.5 nmol/L, thus improving of 10-100-fold the LOD of previous described methods based on laser induced fluorescence or chemiluminescence detection. This method has been applied to the analysis of homogenized rat tissue (heart, muscle and brain) and human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).     

Unlimited-volume stacking of ions in capillary electrophoresis. Part 1: stationary isotachophoretic stacking of anions

An online technique for stacking based on the generation of a stationary isotachophoretic (sITP) boundary is presented. By balancing the anodic migration of an ITP boundary with a cathodic EOF, a stationary boundary is formed that can be used to indefinitely concentrate analytes according to ITP principles during electrokinetic injection. The ITP boundary is created by using an electrolyte containing a leading ion (chloride) and a suitable terminating ion added to the sample (2-morpholinoethanesulphonic acid, MES). Destacking and separation are achieved simply by replacement of the sample vial with electrolyte. The formation and stabilisation of the sITP boundary were evaluated through computer simulation which revealed that the pH had little impact upon the formation of the sITP boundary, but did govern the position at which it becomes stationary. Simulations also demonstrated that similar results were obtained when the capillary was initially filled with sample/terminator or leader/electrolyte, which was also supported by experimental results. Using 100 mM Cl(-), 200 mM Tris, pH 8.05 as the leader/electrolyte and adding 100 mM MES, 200 mM Tris, pH 8.05 to the sample, the sITP boundary was established after 5 min at -20 kV and was stable for at least 60 min. This provided detection limits for NO(2) (-), NO(3) (-) and SCN(-) of 0.05-0.66 ppb, which are 10,000 times lower than hydrodynamic injection and 10-50 times lower than other stacking approaches used for these inorganic ions.     

Field-amplified sample injection coupled with pseudo-isotachophoresis technique for sensitive determination of selected psychiatric drugs in human urine samples after dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction

A field-amplified sample injection (FASI) technique was elaborated for fast and sensitive determination of selected central nervous system drugs in human urine samples. Factors affecting the sensitivity enhancement, such as background electrolyte (BGE) and the analytical matrix composition were optimized and discussed. Pseudo-isotachophoresis (p-ITP) mechanism contribution in preconcentration mechanism was discussed. All separations were performed in uncoated fused silica capillaries 50 μm × 57 cm at 22 kV. The optimized analytical matrix was composed of 0.25 mM HCOOH in 90% (v/v) methanol, while BGE contained 45 mM TRIS/HCl (pH 2.20). The head-column injection was performed in 0.25 mM HCOOH water solution (3 s, 3.45 kPa). Sample was introduced into the capillary by electrokinetic injection (70 s, 5 kV) followed by short BGE plug (3 s, 3.45 kPa). Seven psychiatric drugs (olanzapine, prochlorperazine dimaleate, trifluoperazine dihydrochloride, perphenazine, promazine hydrochloride, clomipramine hydrochloride, and chlorprothixene hydrochloride) were separated in about 6 min. The elaborated method was additionally supported with dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) technique which in summary with FASI provided about 8000–13,000-fold sensitivity enhancement in comparison to the capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method with standard hydrodynamic injection (5 s, 3.45 kPa).     

Micellar electrokinetic biofluid analysis of biogenic amines using on-line sample concentration and UV laser-induced native fluorescence detection

A simple and sensitive sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography method coupled with UV laser-induced native fluorescence detection has been developed for quantitative analysis of biogenic amines in biofluids. The background electrolyte comprised 30 mmol L⁻¹ phosphoric acid and 20 mmol L⁻¹ sodium dodecyl sulfate. The concentration limits of detection of analytes using sweeping-micellar electrokinetic chromatography (sweeping-MEKC) were in the range 7–100 nmol L⁻¹, which were 250–3600-fold improvement for dopamine, DOPA and epinephrine compared with conventional capillary zone electrophoresis. An improvement of approximately 20-fold was observed for all analytes compared with typical micellar electrokinetic chromatography conditions. Baseline separation was achieved for the all analytes within 12 min and migration-time and peak-area repeatability were better than RSD 0.35% and 5.68%, respectively. The developed method was applied to measure the biogenic amines in biofluids extracted from wheat phloem sap, human plasma and human urine.     

Preconcentration and frontal electroelution of amino acids for in-line solid-phase extraction-capillary electrophoresis

A new frontal electroelution approach that can be used for the preconcentration of amino acids in in-line solid-phase extraction-capillary electrophoresis (SPE-CE) has been developed. A single capillary was employed featuring a short monolithic SPE column created inside the capillary via photo-initiated, free-radical polymerisation of 3-sulfopropyl methacrylate and butyl methacrylate monomers. A weak electrolyte of dilute H₂SO₄, pH 2.9, was found to promote adsorption of the amino acids onto the SPE column. Elution of the amino acids was achieved using a dual solvation/ion-exchange transient boundary mobilised via EOF by using a strong electrolyte containing 62.5 mM ethylenediamine, pH 2.9 with H₂SO₄ and 40% (v/v) acetonitrile. Using these two electrolytes, tryptophan was adsorbed onto the SPE column in weak electrolyte and eluted via a frontal electroelution mechanism in the strong electrolyte. Injections up to 20 min, corresponding to over 14 column volumes (or 1400% of the capillary volume) of sample provided quantitative extraction of tryptophan from the weak electrolyte and were eluted without any loss in efficiency. This represents a practical increase of approximately 300-fold when compared to a typical hydrodynamic injection occupying 5% of the capillary volume.     

Constant pressure-assisted head-column field-amplified sample injection in combination with in-capillary derivatization for enhancing the sensitivity of capillary electrophoresis

In this work, a novel method combining constant pressure-assisted head-column field-amplified sample injection (PA-HC-FASI) with in-capillary derivatization was developed for enhancing the sensitivity of capillary electrophoresis. PA-HC-FASI uses an appropriate positive pressure to counterbalance the electroosmotic flow in the capillary column during electrokinetic injection, while taking advantage of the field amplification in the sample matrix and the water of the “head column”. Accordingly, the analytes were stacked at the stationary boundary between water and background electrolyte. After 600 s PA-HC-FASI, 4-fluoro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole as derivatization reagent was injected, followed by an electrokinetic step (5 kV, 45 s) to enhance the mixing efficiency of analytes and reagent plugs. Standing a specified time of 10 min for derivatization reaction under 35 °C, then the capillary temperature was cooled to 25 °C and the derivatives were immediately separated and determined under 25 °C. By investigating the variables of the presented approach in detail, on-line preconcentration, derivatization and separation could be automatically operated in one run and required no modification of current CE commercial instrument. Moreover, the sensitivity enhancement factor of 520 and 800 together with the detection limits of 16.32 and 6.34 pg/mL was achieved for model compounds: glufosinate and aminomethylphosphonic acid, demonstrating the high detection sensitivity of the presented method.     

Direct injection of seawater for the analysis of nitroaromatic explosives and their degradation products by micellar electrokinetic chromatography

Practical considerations for the injection and separation of nitroaromatic explosives in seawater sample matrices are discussed. The use of high surfactant concentrations and long electrokinetic injections allows for improved detection limits. Sensitivity was enhanced by two mechanisms, improved stacking at the detector-side of the sample plug and desorption of analyte from the capillary wall by surfactant-containing BGE from the inlet side of the sample plug. Calculated limits of detection (S/N = 3) for analytes prepared in pure seawater were 70–800 ppb with injection times varying from 5 to 100 s.     

Large volume sample stacking in capillary electrophoresis of weakly acidic compounds using coated capillaries at high pH

Large volume stacking using the electroosmotic flow (EOF) pump (LVSEP) in capillary electrophoresis under a reverse potential is a convenient and straightforward approach for on-line concentration of dilute anionic sample solutions. LVSEP achieves automatic sample matrix removal and subsequent separation without intermediate polarity switching nor complicated instrumental setup. Since anionic analytes should move against the EOF in LVSEP, EOF needs to be suppressed. We extended the range of LVSEP up to pH 11 using various EOF suppression methods, such as dynamic coating by polymer pretreatment and permanent coating. Weakly acidic organic compounds (pK_a<5.2), chlorinated phenols (pK_a=7-9), and aromatic amino acids (pK_a2∼9.3) were concentrated and separated. By hydrodynamically filling the whole capillary of 27 cm long with the sample solution, fast and reliable injection was achieved and sensitivity enhancement factors as large as 170 were readily obtained in less than 8 min.     

On-line stacking and sweeping capillary electrophoresis for detecting heroin metabolites in human urine

Heroin metabolites including morphine, codeine, and 6-acetylmorphine were determined by cation-selective exhaustive injection and sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography (CSEI–sweep-MEKC). Liquid–liquid extraction was used for urine pretreatment. An uncoated fused silica capillary (Ld = 30 cm, 50 μm ID) was filled with phosphate buffer (50 mM, pH 2.5) containing 30% methanol, then high conductivity buffer (100 mM phosphate, 41.3 kPa for 18 s) was followed. Samples were injected electrokinetically (20 kV, 300 s). The sweeping and separation were performed at −25 kV using phosphate buffer (20 mM, pH 2.5) and 80 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate. The baseline separation was done within 10 min. During method validation, the calibration curves were linear over a range of 50–500 ng/mL (r ≧ 0.994). The RSD and RE values in intra-day and inter-day assays were all below 20%, which showed good precision and accuracy. Their detection limits were 10 ng/mL (S/N = 3). The optimized method was applied to determine real urine samples from addicts. These samples were confirmed by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.     

Counter-flow electrokinetic supercharging for the determination of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in water samples

Electrokinetic supercharging (EKS) has been used in the last few years as a powerful tool for separation and on-line preconcentration of different types of analytes. We have developed a valuable modification for EKS system, namely counter-flow EKS (CF-EKS) and applied it for the separation and on-line preconcentration of seven non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in water samples. In CF-EKS, a hydrodynamic counter-flow is applied during electrokinetic injection of the analytes within the EKS system. This counter-flow minimises the introduction of the sample matrix into the capillary, allowing longer injections to be performed. Careful choice of the optimum counter-flow as well as the optimum injection voltage allowed the sensitivity to be enhanced by 11,800-fold, giving limits of detection (LODs) of 10.7–47.0 ng/L for the selected NSAIDs. The developed method was validated and then applied for the determination of the studied NSAIDs in drinking water as well as wastewater samples from Hobart city.     

Strategies for the on-line preconcentration and separation of hypolipidaemic drugs using micellar electrokinetic chromatography

Three strategies were investigated for the simultaneous separation and on-line preconcentration of charged and neutral hypolipidaemic drugs in micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC). A background electrolyte (BGE) consisting of 20 mM ammonium bicarbonate buffer (pH 8.50) and 50 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was used for the separation and on-line preconcentration of the drugs. The efficiencies of sweeping, analyte focusing by micelle collapse (AFMC), and simultaneous field-amplified sample stacking (FASS) and sweeping, were compared for the preconcentration of eight hypolipidaemic drugs in different conductivity sample matrices. When compared with a hydrodynamic injection (5 s at 50 mbar, 0.51% of capillary volume to detection window) of drug mixture prepared in the separation BGE, improvements of detection sensitivity of 60-, 83-, and 80-fold were obtained with sweeping, AFMC and simultaneous FASS and sweeping, respectively, giving limits of detection (LODs) of 50, 36, and 38 μg/L, respectively. The studied techniques showed suitability for focusing different types of analytes having different values of retention factor (k). This is the first report for the separation of different types of hypolipidaemic drugs by capillary electrophoresis (CE). The three methods were validated then applied for the analysis of target analytes in wastewater samples from Hobart city.     

Ultrasensitive analysis of lysergic acid diethylamide and its C-8 isomer in hair by capillary zone electrophoresis in combination with a stacking technique and laser induced fluorescence detection

This article deals with the development and validation of a novel capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) with laser induced fluorescence detection method for the analysis of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and its isomer iso-LSD in hair samples. The separation of both analytes has been achieved in less than 13 min in a 72-cm effective length capillary with 75-μm internal diameter. As running buffer 25 mM citrate, pH 6.0 has been employed and separation temperature and voltage of 20 °C and 13 kV respectively, were applied. Field amplified sample injection (FASI) has been employed for on-line sample preconcentration, using ultrapure water containing 117 μM H₃PO₄ as optimum injection medium. Injection voltage and time have been optimized by means of experimental design, obtaining values of 7 kV and 15 s, respectively. Methylergonovine has been employed as internal standard in order to compensate irreproducibility from electrokinetic injection. The analytical method has been applied to hair samples, previous extraction of the target analytes by ultrasound assisted solid–liquid extraction at 40 °C for 2.5 h, employing acetonitrile as extracting solvent. Linear responses were found for LSD and iso-LSD in matrix-matched calibrations from around 0.400 up to 50.0 pg mg⁻¹. LODs (3 S/N) in the order of 0.100 pg mg⁻¹ were calculated for both analytes, obtaining satisfactory recovery percentages for this kind of sample.     

Separation of amino acids and amines by capillary electrophoresis using poly(ethylene oxide) solution containing cetyltrimethylammonium bromide

We describe simultaneous analysis of naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde (NDA)-amino acid and amine derivatives by capillary electrophoresis in conjunction with light-emitting diode-induced fluorescence (LEDIF) detection using poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) containing cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). In the presence of CTAB and acetonitrile (ACN), adsorption of PEO on the capillary wall is suppressed, leading to generation of a fast and reproducible electroosmotic flow (EOF). In order to optimize separation resolution and speed, 100 mM Tris–borate solution (pH 7.0) containing 20 mM CTAB and 25% ACN was used to fill the capillary and to prepare 1.2% PEO that entered the capillary via EOF. The analysis of 14 NDA-amino acid and -amine derivatives by this approach is rapid (< 4 min), efficient ((0.9–6.4) × 10⁵ theoretical plates), and sensitive (the LODs (S/N = 3) range from 9.5 to 50.5 nM). The RSD values (n = 5) of the migration times and peak heights of the analytes for the intraday analysis are less than 1.5 and 1.2%, respectively. We have validated the practicality of this approach by quantitative determination of 10 amino acids and amines in a beer samples within 4 min.     

Determination of patulin in fruit juice and dried fruit samples by in-tube solid-phase microextraction coupled with liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry

A simple and sensitive method for the determination of patulin in fruit juice and dried fruit samples was developed using a fully automated method consisting of in-tube solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS). Patulin was separated within 5 min by high-performance liquid chromatography using a Synergi MAX-RP 80A column and water/acetonitrile (80/20, v/v) as the mobile phase. Electrospray ionization conditions in the negative ion mode were optimized for MS detection of patulin. The pseudo-molecular ion [M−H]⁻ was used to detect patulin in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The optimum in-tube SPME conditions were 25 draw/eject cycles of 40 μL of sample using a Carboxen 1006 PLOT capillary column as an extraction device. The extracted patulin was readily desorbed from the capillary by passage of the mobile phase, and no carry-over was observed. Using the in-tube SPME LC–MS with SIM method, good linearity of the calibration curve (r = 0.9996) was obtained in the concentration range of 0.5–20 ng/mL using ¹³C₃-patulin as an internal standard, and the detection limit (S/N = 3) of patulin was 23.5 pg/mL. The in-tube SPME method showed >83-fold higher sensitivity than the direct injection method (10 μL injection volume). The within-day and between-day precision (relative standard deviations) were below 0.8% and 5.0% (n = 6), respectively. This method was applied successfully for the analysis of fruit juice and dried fruit samples without interference peaks. The recoveries of patulin spiked into apple juice were >92%, and the relative standard deviations were <4.5%. Patulin was detected at ng/mL levels in various commercial apple juice samples.     

Dual opposite injection electrokinetic chromatography: nonionic microemulsion pseudostationary phase and novel approach to electrokinetic sampling bias

Dual opposite injection capillary electrophoresis (DOI-CE) is a family of CE techniques in which the sample is introduced into both ends of the capillary. For the analysis of compounds with widely varying pKa values using a voltage-driven separation scheme, DOI-CE is superior to conventional CE with sample introduction at only one end of the capillary due to DOI-CE's broader elution window. To enhance the DOI-CE separation, a running buffer with a microemulsion system was developed. Since DOI-CE works best under conditions of low electroosmotic flow (EOF), the suppression of EOF via the addition of a multiply charged cation (e.g., Zn2+) to the buffer was investigated, and was found to suppress the EOF effectively at moderate concentrations (2.5-10 mM). Three different dual opposite injection modes were studied: simultaneous electrokinetic injection, sequential electrokinetic injection, and sequential hydrodynamic injection. The injection bias in the first two electrokinetic injection modes was compared with the sequential hydrodynamic injection. Corrections in the bias of the electrokinetic injections were discussed, and an improved approach was suggested. Finally, the effect of the relative concentration of the multiply charged cation in the sample plug and running buffer on the peak shape of co-electroosmotic and counter-electroosmotic ions was examined, and found to be much more influential on the latter.     

Determination of aflatoxins in food samples by automated on-line in-tube solid-phase microextraction coupled with liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry

A simple and sensitive automated method for determination of aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1, and G2) in nuts, cereals, dried fruits, and spices was developed consisting of in-tube solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS). Aflatoxins were separated within 8 min by high-performance liquid chromatography using a Zorbax Eclipse XDB-C8 column with methanol/acetonitrile (60/40, v/v): 5 mM ammonium formate (45:55) as the mobile phase. Electrospray ionization conditions in the positive ion mode were optimized for MS detection of aflatoxins. The pseudo-molecular ions [M+H]⁺ were used to detect aflatoxins in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The optimum in-tube SPME conditions were 25 draw/eject cycles of 40 μL of sample using a Supel-Q PLOT capillary column as an extraction device. The extracted aflatoxins were readily desorbed from the capillary by passage of the mobile phase, and no carryover was observed. Using the in-tube SPME LC–MS with SIM method, good linearity of the calibration curve (r > 0.9994) was obtained in the concentration range of 0.05–2.0 ng/mL using aflatoxin M1 as an internal standard, and the detection limits (S/N = 3) of aflatoxins were 2.1–2.8 pg/mL. The in-tube SPME method showed >23-fold higher sensitivity than the direct injection method (10 μL injection volume). The within-day and between-day precision (relative standard deviations) at the concentration of 1 ng/mL aflatoxin mixture were below 3.3% and 7.7% (n = 5), respectively. This method was applied successfully to analysis of food samples without interference peaks. The recoveries of aflatoxins spiked into nuts and cereals were >80%, and the relative standard deviations were <11.2%. Aflatoxins were detected at <10 ng/g in several commercial food samples.     

High-sensitive capillary zone electrophoresis analysis by electrokinetic injection with transient isotachophoretic preconcentration: electrokinetic supercharging

The principle of an on-line preconcentration method for capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) named electrokinetic supercharging (EKS), is described and based on computer simulation the preconcentration behavior of the method is discussed. EKS is an electrokinetic injection method with transient isotachophoretic process, is a powerful preconcentration technique for the analysis of dilute samples. After filling the separation capillary with supporting electrolyte, an appropriate amount of a leading electrolyte was filled and the electrokinetic injection was started. After a while, terminating electrolyte was filled subsequently and migration current was applied. This procedure enabled the introduction of a large amount of sample components from a dilute sample without deteriorating separation. Computer simulation of the electrokinetic injection revealed that EKS was effective for the preconcentration of analytes with wide mobility ranges by proper choice of transient isotachophoresis (ITP) system and electroosmotic flow (EOF) should be suppressed to increase injectable amount of analytes under constant voltage mode. A test mixture of rare-earth chlorides was used to demonstrate the uses of EKS-CZE. When a 100 microL sample was used, the low limit of detectable concentration was 0.3 microg/L (1.8 nM for Er), which was comparable or even better than that of ion chromatography and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES).     

On-line concentration and separation of indolamines, catecholamines, and metanephrines in capillary electrophoresis using high concentration of poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)

This paper tackles a simple and efficient method for the simultaneous separation and stacking of neurotransmitters in capillary electrophoresis with UV detection. By using poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDAC) as a buffer additive, the high and reversed EOF are observed. Moreover, the mobility of indolamines and catecholamines decreases as the PDDAC concentration increases. Based on the difference in mobility in the presence and absence of PDDAC, the analytes were simply stacked between the boundary of the sample zone and the background electrolyte containing PDDAC. The separation of 14 analytes including indolamines, catecholamines, and metanephrines was accomplished within 33 min under optimal conditions (1.2% PDDAC and 5 mM formic acid at pH 4.0), and the values of relative standard deviation of their migration time were less than 3.1%. By applying stacking methods for fourteen analytes, we observed: (a) the sample injection volume of sample is up to 216 nL, (b) the limits of detection at signal-to-noise of 3 range from 15.4 to 122.1 nM, and (c) the sensitivity enhancements, compared to normal injection (12 nL), range from 110- to 220-fold. Under the optimal stacking conditions, the present method has been applied to analyze of vanillomandelic acid, 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid, dopamine, tryptamine, and 3-indoxyl sulfate in urine samples.     

Rapid and efficient isotachophoretic preconcentration in free solution coupled with gel electrophoresis separation on a microchip using a negative pressure sampling technique

We present a novel isotachophoresis–gel electrophoresis (ITP–GE) microchip system designed for rapid and efficient isotachophoretic preconcentration coupled with gel electrophoresis separation by using a negative pressure sampling technique. The overall ITP–GE procedure involves only three steps: sample loading, ITP preconcentration and GE separation and was controlled by a simple and compact negative pressure sampling device, which is composed of a vacuum vessel, a three-way electromagnetic valve and a single high voltage power supply. During the sample loading stage, a negative pressure was applied via a three-way electromagnetic valve in headspace of the two sealed sample waste reservoirs (SWs). A sandwiched sample zone between a leading and a terminating electrolyte zone was formed in the channel intersection in less than 1 s. Once the three-way electromagnetic valve was switched to connect SWs to ambient atmosphere to release vacuum in SWs, ITP preconcentration in free solution and GE separation in the 4% hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) sieving material were consequently activated under the electric potentials applied. The performance of present approach was evaluated by using DNA fragments as model analytes. Compared to conventional cross microchip GE using electrokinetic pinched injection, an average signal enhancement of 185-fold was obtained with satisfactory resolution. The results demonstrated the ITP–GE approach possessing an exciting potential of high sensitivity and short sampling time with significant simplification in operation and instrumentation.