Good and reproducible capillary quality is needed to develop robust methods and to facilitate method transfer in CE. Thus several groups have characterized the inner surface of capillaries for electrophoresis during the last years [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8].
In earlier investigations, stronger surface defects have occasionally been observed [5], [6]. Moreover, the drawing temperature has been identified as a crucial parameter for capillary quality [7]. Meanwhile all parameters that control the microscopical capillary quality are clearly identified. If properly handled, physical surface defects no longer play a major role in variability of fused-silica capillaries. It is now possible to obtain capillaries with “atomic flatness”, that means the remaining roughness is in the order of atomic distances [7]. Subsequently, difficulties related to capillary properties have significantly decreased during the last years.