James W. Jorgenson 2026-11-05
J. W. Jorgenson, identified as James W. Jorgenson in the primary ACS byline, coauthored early capillary electrophoresis research with K. D. Lukacs.[ref]
Zone electrophoresis in open-tubular glass capillaries by James W. Jorgenson and Krynn DeArman Lukacs. ACS author information and primary publication record, 1 July 1981
Their research connects an instrumental design choice—using a narrow liquid-filled tube at high electric potential difference—to the ability to distinguish migrating chemical zones.The Clinical Chemistry experiment used 75 micrometre internal diameter and a 100 cm glass capillary at 30 kV, with fluorescent detection of derivatized solutes.[ref]
Free-zone electrophoresis in glass capillaries by J. W. Jorgenson and K. D. Lukacs. Primary publisher abstract, apparatus and reported separations
A uniform-field calculation gives V/m. Increasing electric field can speed electrophoretic transport, but it also increases electrical heating.An original idealized heat-budget calculation takes a cylindrical capillary with liquid electrical conductivity , radius and length . Uniform ohmic conduction givesIts wall area is approximately , so uniform heat removal through that wall would require heat flux . This is the capillary electrophoresis heat-dissipation tradeoff: at fixed conductivity and field, a smaller bore reduces the total power and the required heat flux per wall area.
For stipulated S/m, V/m, m and micrometres, the model gives current about 13.25 microamperes and power about 0.398 W. Doubling radius gives four times the total power and twice the required wall heat flux. These are illustrative values, not a reconstruction of the experiment's buffer conductivity or temperature.
The calculation does not specify actual temperature rise: that also requires thermal conduction and boundary conditions. It explains why narrowing a tube can help make a strong separating electric field practical, while highlighting that voltage alone does not characterize separation quality. The experiment's joint authorship does not establish individual assignments for apparatus construction or analysis.
Krynn DeArman Lukacs 2026-11-05
K. D. Lukacs is the initial-only byline of Krynn DeArman Lukacs, a coauthor of early high-resolution capillary electrophoresis experiments with J. W. Jorgenson. The primary ACS publication supplies the expanded byline; the institutional CV independently identifies Krynn DeArman Lukacs and lists the same research.[ref]
Zone electrophoresis in open-tubular glass capillaries by James W. Jorgenson and Krynn DeArman Lukacs. ACS author information, Analytical Chemistry 53(8), 1298–1302, 1981
[ref] The joint byline supports joint credit, not a claim about which coauthor performed each experimental step.Their 1981 Clinical Chemistry paper tested electrophoresis in a 100 cm glass tube with 75 micrometre internal diameter, applying 30 kV and observing migrating zones with a fluorescence detector. The reported analytes included derivatives of amino acids, peptides and urinary amines; derivatization was necessary for the reported detection.[ref]
Free-zone electrophoresis in glass capillaries by J. W. Jorgenson and K. D. Lukacs. Primary publisher abstract, experimental dimensions, applied potential and detector limitation
An original transport calculation explains how electrophoretic mobility affects separation. Neglecting pressure-driven flow and taking a uniform electric field, a solute's laboratory-frame axial velocity iswhere is its electrophoretic mobility, describes electroosmotic flow, is total capillary length and is distance to the detector. Using V/m and m, hypothetical net mobilities and give transit times about 889 and 667 s. These are constructed transport values, not measured migration times from the paper.
Different arrival times make a separation possible, but usable resolving power also depends on band width and detector response. Conversely, an undetected analyte may reflect missing detector sensitivity rather than absent material. The reported fluorescence requirement therefore belongs to the scientific result, alongside the narrow capillary and high applied electric potential difference.