Effect of alkali metals and metal-ammonia complexes on electroosmosis,effective field strength,and resolution in the separation of diuretics by CZE

The counter ion in CZE separation systems affects resolution, effective field strength and electroosmosis. Alkali metals (lithium, sodium, potassium, and cesium), the ammonium ion, and several complexes of metals with ammonia (Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺, Cu(NH₃)₄]²⁺, Zn(NH₃)₄]²⁺, Cd(NH₃)₄]²⁺, Ni(NH₃)₆]²⁺, and Co(NH₃)₆]²⁺) have been studied for their effect on the separation of diuretics. With the alkali metals the electroosmotic flow velocity decreased and the effective field strength and resolution increased as the hydrated radius of the alkali metal decreased. All the metal-ammonia complexes except that with silver greatly reduced the electroosmotic flow velocity (V_eo) and had only a slight effect on the effective field strength (E_eff). Because these complexes had a negligible effect on the ionic strength of the buffer, they enabled high separating power to be maintained during the separation, and hence the use of more energy in the separation system. This yielded better resolution of the compounds, but the analysis time was then compromised. A simultaneous reduction in capillary length and V_eo while maintaining the high voltage enabled increased resolution without an increase in analysis time. The ability to control V_eo by adding small concentrations (< 100 μM ) of metal complexes to the buffer solution makes it possible to adjust the analysis time and capillary length independently while employing high separation power.