Recent progress in microchip electrophoresis–mass spectrometry

This review highlights the methodological and instrumental developments in microchip electrophoresis (MCE)–mass spectrometry (MS) from 1997. In MCE–MS, the development of ionization interface is one of the most important issues to realize highly sensitive detection and high separation efficiency. Among several interfaces, electrospray ionization (ESI) has been mainly employed to MCE–MS since a simple structure of the ESI interface is suitable for coupling with the microchips. Although the number of publications is still limited, laser desorption ionization (LDI) interface has also been developed for MCE–MS. The characteristics of the ESI and LDI interfaces applied to the electrophoresis microchips are presented in this review. The scope of applications in MCE–MS covers mainly biogenic compounds such as bioactive amines, peptides, tryptic digests and proteins. This review provides a comprehensive table listing the applications in MCE–MS.