Interfacing capillary electrophoresis and surface-enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopy for the determination of dye compounds

The at-line coupling of capillary electrophoresis (CE) and surface-enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopy (SERRS) was optimized for the separation and subsequent spectroscopic identification of charged analytes (dye compounds). Raman spectra were recorded following deposition of the electropherogram onto a moving substrate. To this end a new interface was developed using a stainless steel needle as a (grounded) cathode. The outlet end of the CE capillary was inserted into this metal needle; CE buffer touching the needle tip served as the electrical connection for the CE separation. A translation table was used to move the TLC plate at a constant speed during the deposition. The distance between the tip of the fused silica column and the TLC plate was kept as small as possible in order to establish a constant bridge-flow, while avoiding direct contact. The dyes Basic Red 9 (BR9), Acid Orange 7 (AO7) and Food Yellow 3 (FY3) were used as test compounds. After CE separation in a 20 mM borate buffer at pH 10, after deposition, concentrated silver colloid was added to each analyte spot, followed by irradiation with 514.5 nm light from an argon ion laser to record the SERRS signal using a Raman microscope. Different types of silver colloids were tested: Lee–Meisel type (citrate), borate, and gold-coated silver. BR9 (positively charged) gave much more intense SERRS spectra than the two negatively charged dyes. For BR9 and AO7 the citrate-coated Lee–Meisel colloid yielded the most intense SERRS spectra. The CE–SERRS system was used to separate and detect the negatively charged dyes. Silver colloid and nitric acid (to improve adsorption) were added post-deposition. Even though their chemical structures are very similar, AO7 and FY3 could be readily distinguished based on their SERRS spectra. The limits of detection (S/N=3) of the CE–SERRS system ranged from 6.7×10^–5 M (2.6×10^–12 mol injected) for FY3 down to 1.8×10^–6 M (7.0×10^–14 mol injected) for BR9.D. Arráez Román and E. Efremov contributed equally to this work.