Recent Advances (2023–2025) of Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry (CE-MS) for Top-Down Proteomics

Top-down proteomics (TDP) characterizes proteoforms in cells, tissues, and biofluids, in discovery mode and on a global scale, requiring analytical tools with high peak capacity for proteoform separation and high sensitivity for proteoform detection, given the extremely high proteoform complexity and wide proteoform concentration dynamic range. Capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry (CE-MS) has become an essential tool for TDP in various biomedical applications due to its excellent separation efficiency and high measurement sensitivity for proteoforms, especially with continued improvements in reproducibility and robustness over the last several years. This review summarizes the technological advancements and biomedical applications of CE-MS-based TDP in the last 3 years (2023–2025) and offers brief perspectives at the end.