What are the applications of capillary electrophoresis?

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is an umbrella term that refers to a number of electrokinetic separation techniques used to separate ions based on their electrophoretic mobility through the use of an applied voltage. Capillary electrophoresis has a wide range of applications in a variety of fields including:

• Forensics – In forensics, CE is used to analyze all types of evidence collected from crime scenes and is the preferred method for investigating post-blast and gunshot residues and low levels of explosives. 
• Pharmaceuticals – CE has multiple applications in the pharmaceutical field. It is used to determine target proteins and the structure and purity of a sample, which are critical factors in drug development. It is also used in chiral separations, which is integral to the development of new drugs that may be safer and more effective.
• Medical – Clinical applications of CE include diagnosis of blood disorders, therapeutic drug monitoring, and detection of several inherited genetic disorders such as mitochondrial heteroplasmy, cystic fibrosis, spinocerebellar ataxia, and fragile X. It is also used to identify gene polymorphisms associated with cancer diagnosis and to determine the best treatment strategies.
• Industrial– In the industrial sector, CE is used to analyze various products such as food additives, animal nutrition, detergents, and herbicide.