In CE, ions are separated based on their mass to charge ratio (electrophoretic mobility) upon an applied electrical field. The separation mechanism only depends on the BGE composition, applied electrical field and intrinsic properties of the ions.
In general a CE system is composed of three major parts. These include (i) the separation capillary, (ii) the high voltage power supply (HVPS)–this is the driving element common in all separations and (iii) a detector with appropriate data acquisition (DAQ) supporting electronics. This makes CE much more do-it-yourself (DIY) friendly, either with conventional capillaries or on microchip format.
A reliable HVPS is crucial to perform both separations and electrokinetic injection. The separation in terms of repeatability of the migration times can to a large extent depend on the HVPS quality. Several well-established companies sell both the ready to use HVPS and HVPS modules for the researchers to build their own instrumental parts. In particular EMCO, Spellman and Dongwen/China. Here, we try to build our own HVPS setup.
Typically, HVPS can apply up to ±30 kV and ±300 μA if designed for standard CE. Note that low power HVPS are sufficient for CE with currents in the microampere range.
Home-built HVPS for CE-C4D
Key feature:
- High Voltage output (typically 0 – ±15 kV, 30 kV available)
- Positive or negative polarity
- Output Voltage controlling by external voltage
- Output Voltage monitor
- Output Current monitor
- Overcurrent protection
- Compact design
- User-friendly
Circuit design
Performance test
Update time: 2021-11-18