Instrumental validation in capillary electrophoresis and checkpoints for method validation

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is increasingly being used in regulated and testing environments which demand validation. The design, development and production of CE instrumentation should be governed by qualifications which ensure the quality of the finished product. The vendor should therefore provide guidelines and procedures which assist the user in ensuring the adequate operation of the instrumentation and especially in designing installation qualification (IQ) and operational qualification/performance verification (OQ/PV) procedures. OQ/PV should test those functions of an instrument which directly affect the CE analysis, i.e. voltage, temperature, injection precision and detector function. In validation of CE methods care should be taken that those aspects which directly affect the precision of peak parameters are appreciated. The relationship between CE instrumentation, chemistry and validation parameters is discussed and guidelines are presented for definition of a CE method for submission to regulatory authorities.