Capillary Electrophoresis in the Analysis of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids

Abstract

The aim of this study to inventory the main electrophoretic methods for identification and quantitative determination of fatty acids from different biological matrices. Critical analysis of electrophoretic methods reported in the literature show that the determination of polyunsaturated fatty acids can be made by: capillary zone electrophoresis, micellar electrokinetic chromatography and microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography using different detection systems such as ultraviolet diode array detection, laser induced fluorescence or mass – spectrometry. Capillary electrophoresis is a fast, low-cost technique used for polyunsaturated fatty acids analysis although their determination is mostly based on gas chromatography.