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Electrophoresis 2014, 35, 1757
Editorial 2013 AES Annual Meeting In this special issue, we are pleased to highlight the research presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Electrophoresis Society (AES), held in San Francisco, CA (USA) from November 3rd – 8th 2013. AES is a leading electrophoresis society worldwide, that integrates professionals and scientists from biological and engineering disciplines. The AES annual meeting focuses on fundamental research in the areas of electrokinetics and electrophoresis, as well as innovative microfluidics and bioanalytical applications. This year’s program included over one hundred presentations organized into twelve oral sessions and one poster session. It is indeed fascinating to observe the evolution of the scientific fields over the years, as they mature, more fundamentals are unveiled, leading to the development of new technologies and methods which in turn open the possibility for novel applications. Science is always evolving, its progress makes it possible to solve problems that were impossible to address in the past. The call for better and more flexible analytical techniques is the driving force that guides the advances in the areas of electrophoresis and electrokinetics. Bench-scale and microfluidic techniques are complementary; bench-scale methodologies are essential in many preparative applications and in large-scale analysis. Alternatively, microfluidics techniques have transformed the field of bioanalysis, by enabling fast and highly integrated processes in microdevices. The wealth of knowledge generated from traditional electrophoretic techniques serves as the platform for new developments in microfluidics applications. The dreams of integrating several operations on a single microdevice, from sample prep to detection, are gradually becoming a reality. The future will bring new exciting and creative applications, as microscale electrokinetics continues its rapid growth as one of the main pillars in the field of microfluidics. This special issue includes twelve valuable contributions from the 2013 AES Annual Meeting. These articles range from fundamentals that study gel electrophoresis, zeta potentials and non-polar liquids, to electrokinetic applications for improving device stability, electroosmosis, electrorotation and dielectrophoresis. A final section focused on bioanalytical applications includes the electrophoretic characterization of proteins, cell manipulation by dielectrophoresis and electroporation; as well as the development of a new method for measuring fluorescence life time in flow cytometry. We hope that you enjoy these contributions, and invite you to join us this November in Atlanta, GA (USA) for the 2014 AES Annual Meeting (please visit our website for more details: www.aesociety.org).
Blanca H. Lapizco-Encinas
C 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Blanca H. Lapizco-Encinas
Rafael V. Davalos
Rafael V. Davalos
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