title: On-column refractive-index detection based on retroreflected beam interference for capillary electrophoresis.
abstract: A novel refractive-index detection scheme used for capillary electrophoresis detection, based on the interference of two retroreflected beams from the outer surface of a capillary tube illuminated by a focused laser beam, is described. A theoretical description and experimental measurement of the intensity profile of the interference fringe pattern in the detection plane are presented. The factors that limit the sensitivity of the proposed refractive-index detection scheme are discussed and compared with the transmitted beam interference and backscatter-based refractive-index detection configurations. The proposed refractive-index detector was used successfully for detection of capillary electrophoresis separations of saccharose, maltose, and lactose with a capillary tube of 50-mum inner diameter and a simple experimental setup.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li