Versatile tool for the manipulation of electrophoresis chips

This communication describes a versatile tool allowing standard operations (i.e. washing, pre-conditioning, separation, inner surface modification of the chip channel) with capillary electrophoresis chips. Through currently designed for a chip of maximal dimensions 30x60 mm, other formats of the chip require only a minimum adjustment of the equipment, namely setting of the chip sliding rails and adequate arrangement of the exchangeable heads. The application of the tool is demonstrated by the separation of the standard set of inorganic cations. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.