Capillary zone electrophoresis of basic analytes in methanol as non-aqueous solvent mobility and ionisation constant

The electrophoretically relevant properties of monoacidic 21 bases (including common drugs) containing aliphatic or aromatic amino groups were determined in methanol as solvent. These properties are the actual mobilities (that of the fully ionised weak bases), and their pKa values. Actual mobilities were measured in acidic methanolic solutions containing perchloric acid. The ionisation constants of the amines were derived from the dependence of the ionic mobilities on the pH of the background electrolyte solution. The pH scale in methanol was established from acids with known conventional pK*a values in this solvent used as buffers, avoiding thus further adjustment with a pH sensitive electrode that might bias the scale. Actual mobilities in methanol were found larger than in water, and do not correlate well with the solvent's viscosity. The pK*a values of the cation acids, HB-, the corresponding form of the base, B, are higher in methanol, whereas a less pronounced shift was found than for neutral acids of type HA. The mean increase (compared to pure aqueous solution) for aliphatic ammonium type analytes is 1.8, for substituted anilinium 1.1, and for aromatic ammonium from pyridinium type 0.5 units. The interpretation of this shift was undertaken with the concept of the medium effect on the particles involved in the acid-base equilibrium: the proton, the molecular base, B, and the cation HB+.     

Influence of pH*-value of methanolic electrolytes on electroosmotic flow in hydrophilic coated capillaries

The dependency of EOF on the H+-concentration and the related so called pH* value of methanolic electrolytes has been examined with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and uncoated capillaries. These results were compared with the pH dependency of EOF of these capillaries using aqueous buffers. In uncoated capillaries the dependency of EOF on the pH(*)-value is very similar for aqueous and methanolic electrolytes. The EOF increases with increasing H+-concentration and pH-hysteresis is observed. In PVA coated capillaries the EOF is strongly reduced over wide pH* or pH ranges for both methanolic electrolytes and aqueous buffers. The EOF in PEG coated capillaries is surprisingly directed to the anode with methanolic electrolytes whereas a reduced cathodic EOF is observed in aqueous electrolytes. The anodic EOF of PEG-coated capillaries in methanolic electrolytes is independent of the pH*-value. The usefulness of PEG- and PVA-coated capillaries for adjusting the EOF in non-aqueous electrolytes for the analysis of isomeric organic acids was demonstrated.     

Capillary zone electrophoresis in methanol: migration behavior and background electrolytes

Nonaqueous (NA) solutions are often used as background electrolytes (BGEs) and NA solvents are added to aqueous BGEs as organic modifiers in capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE), in order to optimize the separations. This can be tricky, however, because the pH* and pK* concepts may be totally different in NA solvents, whereas often less knowledge is available concerning phenomena, such as system zones, applying NA solvents. In this paper, the concepts of pH* and pK* are considered for methanol as a solvent and pK* values are determined for several components in mixtures of water and methanol. With a mathematical model, adapted for calculations in methanol, parameters are calculated describing the fronting or tailing character of peaks and the question of peaks or dips, and the existence of system zones is discussed for pure methanol as a solvent. These aspects are experimentally verified, applying BGEs useful for the separation of cationic species in the indirect UV mode. It can be concluded that the mathematical model developed for aqueous BGEs is applicable to BGEs in methanol, too, and that the behavior of BGEs in methanol is comparable with that in water concerning the fronting or tailing character of peaks and the question of peaks and dips, although the mobilities and pK values can change significantly.     

New aspects of buffering with multivalent weak acids in capillary zone electrophoresis: pros and cons of the phosphate buffer

Phosphate buffer is frequently used as background electrolyte in capillary electrophoresis. It can cover a broad range of pH due to the three dissociation constants (pK1 = 2.0, pK2 = 7.2, and pK3 = 11.0) of phosphoric acid and because it is UV-light transparent. This contribution brings a theoretical study of the analytical separation performance (sample window, regions of peak symmetry, regions of fronting and tailing peaks) of phosphate buffer, serving as a model of buffering with multivalent weak acids. The study is based on the use of peak shape diagrams and covers the pH range 2.55-11.43. New important general knowledge has been revealed that single multivalent weak acids mimic the performance of background electrolytes with multiple coanionic species for anionic analyses. It is shown that simple phosphate buffers prepared by mixing phosphoric acid and potassium hydroxide may exhibit up to two regions of symmetry, of fronting as well as of tailing zones, on the mobility scale inside the sample window. Moreover they may exhibit a "schizophrenic" region of enormous electromigration dispersion.     

Explanation for the enhanced dissolution of silica column packing in high pH phosphate and carbonate buffers

It has been reported that at high pH, the rate of bonded phase packing degradation in methanol/water mobile phases is greater for carbonate and phosphate buffers than for amine buffers. This conclusion was based on buffer pH determined in the aqueous buffer before dilution with methanol. Changes in buffer species pKa, and therefore buffer pH, upon methanol dilution are consistent with the observed degradation results. Measurements of pH in the methanol/water solutions confirm that the carbonate and phosphate buffers were considerably more basic than the amine buffer, even though all the buffers were pH 10 before dilution with methanol. These results demonstrate that it can be misleading to extrapolate aqueous pH data to partially aqueous solutions. Measurements of pH in the mixed solvent provide more reliable predictions of column and sample stability.     

Capillary zone electrophoresis of cationic and anionic drugs in methanol

The actual mobilities and dissociation constants of acidic and basic pharmaceuticals were determined in methanol. Actual mobilities were derived from the dependence of the effective mobilities of the analytes on the pH of the methanolic background electrolyte solution (pH(MeOH)). The pKa values of the pharmaceuticals in methanol (pK(a,MeOH)) were calculated by non-linear curve fitting to the measured mobility values. It was found that the shift in pKa value (when compounds were transferred from water to methanol) increased with the acidity of the analyte. The average pKa shift for compounds exhibiting acidic properties in water was ca. 5.5 units, and the shift for basic compounds about 2 units. As was shown for a mixture of beta-blockers, the calculated actual mobilities and pKa values can be utilised in the optimisation of pH conditions for separation. The practical value of the method was illustrated by the analysis of urine samples.     

Directed control of electroosmotic flow in nonaqueous electrolytes using poly(ethylene glycol) coated capillaries

Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-coated capillaries exhibit unique properties in nonaqueous electrolytes. Immobilized PEG interacts significantly with different cations present in nonaqueous electrolytes. This can induce a positive surface charge on PEG-coated capillaries and results in an adjustable anodic electroosmotic flow (EOF) in nonaqueous electrolytes whereas a reduced cathodic EOF is observed in aqueous electrolytes. The EOF can reversibly be adjusted by the variation of the electrolyte constitution, namely the type of the solvent used and the nature and concentration of background cations. In methanol and especially in acetonitrile electrolytes the magnitude and also the direction of EOF is strongly dependent on the water content. Using different alkali metal cations, the EOF can be increased, reduced, or even reversed depending on the nature of the cation. The directed manipulation of EOF in methanolic electrolytes using PEG-coated capillaries was applied for optimization of nonaqueous capillary electrophoretic separations of acidic compounds with regard to reproducibility, resolution, and analysis time.     

Nonaqueous versus aqueous capillary electrophoresis of alpha-helical polypeptides: effect of secondary structure on separation selectivity

The CE separation of alpha-helical polypeptides composed of 14-31 amino acid residues has been investigated using aqueous and nonaqueous BGEs. The running buffers were optimized with respect to pH. Generally, higher separation selectivities were observed in nonaqueous electrolytes. This may be explained by a change in the secondary structure when changing from water to organic solvents. Circular dichroism spectra revealed a significant increase in helical structures in methanol-based buffers compared to aqueous buffers. This change in secondary structure of the polypeptides contributed primarily to the different separation selectivity observed in aqueous CE and NACE. For small oligopeptides of two to five amino acid residues no significant effect of the solvent was observed in some cases while in other cases a reversal of the migration order occurred when changing from aqueous to nonaqueous buffers. As these peptides cannot adopt secondary structures the effect may be attributed to a shift of the pKa values in organic solvents compared to water.     

The use of metal ion-supplemented buffers to enhance the resolution of peptides in capillary zone electrophoresis

The potential of metal ion-containing buffers to enhance the resolution of peptides in capillary zone electrophoresis was evaluated. The impact of adding Cu(II) and Zn(II) salts to electrophoresis buffers is shown to affect the migrational behavior of several dipeptides containing histidine. Interaction with a metal ion differentially decreases the electrophoretic mobilities of peptides which comigrate in the absence of metal ions, thus causing their separation. This effect is obtained at low pH where the large net charge on the samples yields short analysis times. The dependence of the resolution on Zn(II) concentration is presented for two different samples. The influence of the background buffer is discussed.     

Application of factor analysis to the study of the forms of succinylfluorescein present in buffer solutions in aqueous methanol

The pH-dependent forms adopted by the xanthene dye succinylfluorescein in 1:1 v/v aqueous methanol buffers have been deduced from factor analysis of absorbance data measured at six wavelengths in the visible region, and sixteen pH-values. It is concluded that a protonated species and a doubly-charged anion are the only absorbing species at the two ends of the pH-range studied, 1.40-9.77, and the quinonoid neutral and singly charged anion forms, both with similar absorption properties, are the major components in the pH-range 5-6. A colourless minor compound may also be present at around pH 4. Apparent pK values corresponding to the three ionizations involved are 2.90, 4.60 and 6.80, as determined by potentiometry.     

Reversed-phase ion-pair separation of several weak organic acids found in urine

Retention data are presented for homovanillic acid, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, p-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, vanillic acid and hippuric acid on reversed-phase C-18 columns with aqueous and 10% (v/v) methanolic acetic acid buffers. These data are fitted to a model and window diagrams are constructed from calculated model parameters. The optimum pH for separation of these acids is 4.2–4.4.     

Isoelectric buffers, part 3: determination of pKa and pI values of diamino sulfate carrier ampholytes by indirect UV-detection capillary electrophoresis

Ampholytes with close pK(a) values (i.e., good carrier ampholytes (CAs)) are needed as buffers in pH-biased isoelectric trapping (IET) separations. The syntheses of two families of such good CAs were reported recently. Members of the family of diamino sulfate ampholytes (first series) had pI values in the 5.7 < pI < 9.0 range. Members of the family of quaternary ammonium dicarboxylic acid ampholytes (second series) had pI values in the pI < 4.3 range. To further characterize the diamino sulfate ampholytes, their effective mobilities were measured by indirect UV-absorbance detection capillary electrophoresis in a series of background electrolytes (BGEs) with different pH values. The pK(a) and limiting ionic mobility values of the CAs were obtained by fitting these mobility values, as a function of the pH and the ionic strength of the BGEs, to the theoretical mobility expression. These diamino sulfates complete the list of CAs suitable for IET separations.     

Chromatographic evaluation using basic solutes of the silanol activity of stationary phases based on poly(methyloctylsiloxane) immobilized onto silica

The chromatographic behaviors of some basic solutes were evaluated on stationary phases based on poly(methyloctylsiloxane) immobilized onto silica (PMOS-SiO(2)). The test solutes present both hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties. Evaluations of the pH effect used 80:20 v/v methanol/buffered mobile phase over the pH range of 5-11.5 with inorganic buffers such as borate, carbonate and phosphate and with organic buffers such as citrate, tricine and triethylamine. Evaluations in acidic mobile phases used 50:50 v/v and 30:70 v/v methanol/buffer (pH 2.5; 20 mmol/L) mobile phases. The buffer concentration effect used 65:35 v/v methanol/phosphate (pH 7; 20 and 100 mmol/L) mobile phases. The results are compared with those obtained with two chemically bonded stationary phases. The immobilized phases show greater contributions from an ion-exchange mechanism than do the commercial phases. The results indicate that the silanol activity of PMOS-SiO(2) stationary phases can be adequately evaluated by using appropriate basic probes and mobile phases having different pH, using different buffers.     

Analysis of protamine peptides in insulin pharmaceutical formulations by capillary electrophoresis

Protamines are a group of highly basic peptides that are sometimes added to insulin formulations to prolong the pharmacological action. In this study, different methods were investigated to identify protamine in insulin formulations. Capillary electrophoresis in aqueous and non‐aqueous media was tested to separate these peptides with very close amino acid sequences. Different buffers (phosphate or formate, both acidified) and various additives (principally negatively charged and neutral surfactants) were investigated to optimize peptide separation. Finally, a micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography method using a capillary of 120 cm effective length and an aqueous background electrolyte made up of 100 mM phosphate buffer (pH 2) and 50 mM Thesit® gave the best results, providing the separation of the four major protamine peptides within 25 min.     

High-performance liquid chromatography systems for the separation of local anaesthetic drugs with applicability to the analysis of illicit cocaine samples

Two high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) systems are presented which are suitable for the separation of local anaesthetic drugs. An octadecyl-silica column is used with aqueous methanolic eluents (15 and 50% respectively) containing n-hexylamine-orthophosphoric acid buffers and data for 36 compounds are given. The HPLC systems have application for the identification of unknown drugs in this class while the first eluent (15% methanol, pH 2.5) is particularly useful for the examination of illicit cocaine samples because it gives good separation of common adulterants and impurities.     

Influence of buffer substances and urea on the beta-cyclodextrin-mediated chiral separation of dipeptides in CE

The influence of buffering substances and urea on the beta-CD-mediated chiral separations of the dipeptides Ala-Phe and Ala-Tyr was studied in the pH range of 2.5-3.8. Only minor effects of the buffer substances on the chiral separation selectivity alpha were observed at a beta-CD concentration of 15 mg/mL. In contrast, the selectivity improved at pH 2.5 but decreased at pH 3.8 upon the addition of 2 M urea. Complexation by beta-CD resulted in a shift of the pK(a) values toward higher values which was more pronounced for the DD-enantiomers of both dipeptides than for the LL-enantiomers. Addition of urea further increased the pK(a) shift. The consequence of this pK(a) shift is an increase of the fraction of the protonated, positively charged form of the peptides which explained the improved chiral separation at pH 2.5 and the reduced selectivity at pH 3.8. A pK(a) shift by the addition of urea was also observed for N-tert-butyloxycarbonyl phenylalanine (BOC-Phe) as a model compound that is strongly complexed by beta-CD. This effect was not stereospecific. Addition of urea resulted in a decrease of the apparent complexation constants between beta-CD and the BOC-Phe enantiomers to the same extent but this did not affect the separation selectivity alpha. For chiral separations that display strong pH dependence such as peptide enantioseparations close to the pK(a) values of the compounds, urea may not solely be regarded as a solubility enhancer for beta-CD but may also influence the separation.     

Capillary zone electrophoresis in non-aqueous solutions: pH of the background electrolyte

Although the establishment of a pH scale and the determination of the pH in water is not problematic, it is not a straightforward task in non-aqueous solvents. As capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) in organic solvents has gained increasing interest, it seems to be valuable to re-discuss the concept of the pH in such media, especially pointing to those aspects, which make pH measurement uncertain in non-aqueous solvents. In this review, the relevant aspects when dealing with primary standard (PS) and secondary standard (SS) as recommended by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), and the usage of the operational pH are discussed with special emphasis to non-aqueous solvents. Here, different liquid junction potentials, incomplete dissociation of the electrolytes (especially in solvents with low or moderate relative permittivity) and the occurrence of homo- and heteroconjugation must be taken into account. Problems arising in capillary zone electrophoresis practice are addressed, e.g. when the background electrolyte (BGE) consists of organic solvents, but the measuring electrode (normally the glass electrode) is calibrated with aqueous buffers, and the liquid junction potentials between the solvents do not cancel each other. The alternative concept of establishing a certain pH is described, using mixtures of reference acids or bases with known pKa in the organic solvent, and their respective salts, at a certain concentration ratio, relying to the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation. Special discussion is directed to those organic solvents most common in capillary zone electrophoresis, methanol (MeOH) and acetonitrile (ACN), but other solvents are included as well. The potential significance of small amounts of water present in the organic solvent on changes in pKa values, and thus on the pH of the buffering components is pointed out.     

Determination of cationic mobilities and pKa values of 22 amino acids by capillary zone electrophoresis

The effective mobilities of the cationic forms of common amino acids--mostly proteinogenic--were determined by capillary zone electrophoresis in acidic background electrolytes at pH between 2.0 and 3.2. The underivatized amino acids were detected by the double contactless conductivity detector. Experimentally measured effective mobilities were fitted with the suitable regression functions in dependence on pH of the background electrolyte. The parameters of the given regression function corresponded to the values of the actual mobilities and the mixed dissociation constants (combining activities and concentrations) of the compound related to the actual ionic strength. McInnes approximation and Onsager theory were used to obtain thermodynamic dissociation constants (pK(a)) and limiting (absolute) ionic mobilities.     

Synthesis of heptakis(2-O-methyl-3-O-acetyl-6-O-sulfo)-cyclomaltoheptaose, a single-isomer, sulfated beta-cyclodextrin carrying nonidentical substituents at all the C2, C3, and C6 positions and its use for the capillary electrophoretic separation of enantiomers in acidic aqueous and methanolic background electrolytes

The sodium salt of heptakis(2-O-methyl-3-O-acetyl-6-O-sulfo)cyclomaltoheptaose (HMAS), the first single-isomer, sulfated beta-cyclodextrin carrying nonidentical substituents at all of the C2, C3, and C6 positions, has been synthesized, analytically characterized, and used for the capillary electrophoretic separation of the enantiomers of a group of 24 weak base pharmaceuticals in acidic aqueous and acidic methanolic background electrolytes. HMAS interacted more strongly with most of the analytes studied than heptakis(2,3-di-O-methyl-6-O-sulfo)cyclomaltoheptaose, but less strongly than heptakis(2,3-di-O-acetyl-6-O-sulfo)cyclomaltoheptaose, the respective analogs with identical substituents at the C2 and C3 positions. The good separation selectivities and favorable normalized electroosmotic flow mobilities allowed for rapid, efficient separation of the enantiomers of 19 of the 24 weak base analytes in the aqueous and methanolic background electrolytes. The trends in the effective mobilities and separation selectivities as a function of the HMAS concentration closely followed the predictions of the ionic strength-corrected charged resolving agent migration model.     

Electrophoretic determination of calystegines A3 and B2 in potato

Potatoes, members of the Solanaceae plant family, contain calystegines, water-soluble nortropane alkaloids, which are biologically active as glycosidase inhibitors. The content of calystegines A(3) and B(2) in different varieties of potato and in various parts of the tubers (whole potato, peel, flesh, and sprouts) were analysed by new capillary zone electrophoresis and capillary isotachophoresis methods and by the routine GC method. The optimized background electrolyte for capillary zone electrophoretic analysis was mixture of 20 mM histidine, 20 mM N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)-2-aminoethanesulfonic acid and 20% (v/v) methanol in demineralized water. Calystegines were detected by indirect UV detection at 210 nm. A clear separation of calystegines from other components of the methanolic sample extract was achieved within 4 min. The electrolytes for isotachophoretic analysis consisted of 5 mM NH(4)OH, 10 mM N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)-2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, 0.1% hydroxyethylcellulose and 20% (v/v) methanol in demineralized water (leading) and 5 mM histidine+10 mM acetic acid+20% (v/v) methanol in demineralized water (terminating). Calystegines were separated within 20 min and detected by a conductimeter. Method characteristics of both zone electrophoresis and isotachophoresis, i.e., linearity (10-100 ng/microl and 1-10 ng/microl), accuracy (recovery 96+/-5% and 98+/-4%), intra-assay repeatability (4.2% and 3.5%), and detection limit (3 and 0.4 ng/microl) were evaluated. Simple sample preparation, sufficient sensitivity, speed of analysis, and low running cost are important attributes of the electrophoretic methods. The overall results of electrophoretic methods were comparable with GC.