Application of capillary electrophoresis in the analysis of phosphate in lake water

A method for analysis of phosphate in lake water by capillary electrophoresis is described, and the results obtained by capillary electrophoresis and by the conventional colorimetric method are given. Capillary electrophoresis is coming to be a significant method also for analysis of inorganic ions in aquatic environmental samples, mainly due to small sample volume demand; the analyses can be carried out from 1–2 ml of sample and sensitivity down to 10 μg/1 can be obtained. The determinations can be done in 5 minutes and the operating costs are very low.