Battery-powered nonaqueous microchip electrophoresis system for rapid analysis of tamoxifen and its metabolites in human plasma

A novel quantification method for anti-estrogen drugs in human plasma on a fully functional, battery-operated nonaqueous microchip electrophoresis (MCE) system coupled with contactless conductivity detection (C4D) was developed. The entire system was powered by a 12 V DC output NiMH rechargeable battery pack. A baseline separation for the detection of tamoxifen and its metabolites was achieved in 1.3 minutes. The results obtained are comparable to the conventional NACE method, which in assay sensitivity corresponded to a limit of detection (LOD) of 45 ng/mL and acceptable RSD range of 2.5-3.4%.