Techniques of capillary electrophoresis are essential for both the quantitative and qualitative analysis of a large variety of compounds. They find application in many areas of chemistry, from pharmacological industry and food processing, up to highly specialized biotechnological laboratories. Over the last hundred years, their mathematical model has been described with precision. Thus, current research mainly aims for the development of more advanced and more specialized applications. During the greatest boom of affinity capillary electrophoresis within the nineties, many authors would describe similar phenomena under different names. The first part of this work focuses on the consolidation and unification of the problematics and terminology of this method. It also discusses the phenomena which can affect electromigration and separation during electrophoretic processes. We will focus on a specific subset of affinity capillary electrophoresis, partial filling capillary electrophoresis, which, to our knowledge, has not been fully theoretically explored yet, and present a mathematical model allowing the determination of complexation constants and state some limitations of this approach. The second part of this thesis focuses on the development and application of computer softwares, which are meant...

In this thesis the possibilities of using capillary electrophoresis as a separation technique for analysis of proteins and microbubbles is presented. A complete analytical process consists of five necessary steps of which one is the actual analysis step. For this step a suitable analytical technique is needed. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is one of the common analytical separation techniques used for analysis of a diversity of analytes, and can be both used in routine analysis and for research purposes. The reason for using CE, compared to other liquid-based separation techniques, is mainly short analysis time, high resolution, and negligible sample volumes and solvent waste. Depending on the characteristics of the analytes, and the sample matrix, different modes of CE can be used, where capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) is the most employed one. The basic principle of CZE is separation of the analytes due to differences in total mobility, which is dependent on the charge and size of the analytes, and the electroosmotic flow (EOF). The EOF can be controlled by several parameters e.g. choice of background electrolyte (BGE), and the optimization of the parameters has been discussed throughout the thesis. To improve the properties of the BGE, an ethylammonium nitrate (EAN) water solution was used as BGE for CE analysis in Paper I. The precision of the EOF with this method was determined by adjusting the pH of the BGE, the concentration of EAN in the BGE, and the electric field. Model proteins were thereafter analysed using the optimal parameters yielding a precision sufficient for routine control. One example of the applications of CE is separation of novel contrast agents, which consist of polyvinyl alcohol microbubbles (PVA-MBs). In Paper II, a method for analysis of PVA-MBs in biological samples using CE with UV-detection was developed. It was also established that intact PVA-MBs could be distinguished from ultrasound degraded PVA-MBs in the same set-up. / <p>QC 20171012</p>