Micellar electrokinetic chromatography

Micellar electrokinetic chromatography, abbreviated MEKC, is a capillary electrophoresis technique that separates neutral compounds using surfactant micelles as a moving pseudo-stationary phase inside a narrow capillary. Charged micelles sweep past the detector at different rates, carrying neutral analytes with them according to how strongly each partitions into the micelle. Food analysts apply it to vitamins, phenolic compounds, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, and contaminants that are difficult to separate by conventional methods. It offers high resolution, tiny sample volumes, and fast run times, making it a useful complement to HPLC in quality-control and research laboratories working on complex food matrices such as beverages, oils, and plant extracts.