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Abstract
The most common techniques for the analysis of PACs are GC and HPLC but they come with drawbacks: limited volatility for GC and insufficient resolution of complex samples with HPLC. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) has emerged in the last decades as a method that can compete with chromatographic techniques for the analysis of PACs. The advantages are a high resolution and that separations are performed in the liquid phase so that volatility is not an issue. The critical issue is how to impart CE mobility to PACs. Interaction of the electrically neutral analytes with a charged carrier is inevitable and this review highlights such separations via interaction with monomeric and polymeric buffer additives. The separation of ionogenic PAHs and polycyclic aromatic heterocycles through protonation or deprotonation of the polar groups is also discussed.
