Metall(prote)omic studies by capillary electrophoresis using separation capillary as an in-line reactor.

This perspective article highlights the potential of capillary electrophoresis (CE) in in-line monitoring of biomolecular reactions related to in vivo transformations of metal species. In such scrutinizing, the capillary is regarded as a nanolitre-volume reactor in which electrical field-driven reactants are mixed to produce a response that enables in situ following-up and characterization of non-covalent molecular interactions. The concept of a CE reactor has been extended here to the investigation of processes that are responsible for the formation and decomposition of metal-bioligand species under simulated physiological conditions.