Application of coating technology in capillary electrophoresis for chiral separation

Chirality is one of the intrinsic attributes of the nature. Chiral separation and analysis are of great importance in many research fields, such as life science, environmental science, biological engineering and pharmaceutical engineering. Currently, chiral capillary electrophoresis technique used for the enantioselective resolution of different kinds of racemates has become one of the most distinctive research and application fields. However, the adsorption of the analytes (or chiral selectors) on the inner wall of the capillary is a common problem in capillary electrophoresis chiral separation. Coating technology, namely modification of the inner wall of the capillary, is the simplest and most effective way to suppress disadvantageous adsorption, and to improve the separation efficiency and analysis repeatability. In this review, the recent applications of different coating procedures in chiral analysis are presented, and the future developments in this field are also prospected.