Recent advances in microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC), a special case of electrokinetic chromatography, accomplishes electrokinetic separations using microemulsions as background electrolytes. MEEKC separates solutes based on hydrophobicity and differences in electrophoretic mobility, and it offers highly efficient separation of charged and neutral solutes covering a wide range of water solubility.This review summarizes the development of MEEKC techniques from January 2008 to June 2011. Areas covered include preconcentration techniques, chiral separation, MEEKC coupled to mass spectrometry, and prediction of solute characteristics and partitioning mechanisms.We introduce the fundamentals of MEEKC and discuss recent applications.

► MEEKC is a good technique for separating a wide range of compounds.
► We expect that the theory of MEEKC will be explained in more detail in future.
► This review summarises the development of MEEKC (reported January 2008–June 2011).
► Areas covered include preconcentration, chiral separation, and MEEKC-MS.
► We introduce the fundamentals of MEEKC and describe recent applications.