Electrokinetic chromatography of twelve monomethylbenz[a]anthracene isomers using a polymerized anionic surfactant

A method for the separation of twelve monomethyl-substituted benza]anthracene isomers using poly-(sodium undecylenic sulfate) (poly-SUS) surfactant by means of electrokinetic capillary chromatography (EKC) is described. Several parameters such as concentration of acetonitrile (ACN), pH, as well as applied voltage were studied to optimize the EKC separation. ACN at a concentration of 35% v/v, 12.5 mM phosphate-borate buffer, 30 kV with 0.5% w/v poly-SUS at a pH of 9.5 provided a resolution of a mixture of nine out of twelve methylbenza]anthracene (MBA) isomers in 50 min. The results of this study suggest that molecular length of MBA rather than length-to-breath ratio plays an important role in the elution order of some isomers.