Capillary electrophoresis of small anions in complex samples with a hollow fiber sampling inlet end.

A hollow fiber sampling inlet end of capillary electrophoresis (CE) for small ions in complex samples is described. A short piece of hollow fiber, which only permits small ions to pass through its wall, was directly connected to one end of a capillary. Small ions in complex samples were injected into the capillary through the hollow fiber by an electrokinetic method. The experimental results of CE for standard anion mixture solutions, river water, and milk samples show that the hollow fiber sampling inlet end is a simple and useful method for the CE of complex samples. Furthermore, it has been shown that the method can be used to study small anion changes during the milk storing process.