Rapid analysis of native neomycin components on a portable capillary electrophoresis system with potential gradient detection

A simple method based on capillary electrophoresis with potential gradient detection was developed to separate and detect neomycin components within 4 min without a derivatization step. Satisfactory separation and good repeatability were obtained using a separation buffer composed of 1 mM ammonium citrate (pH 3.5). The linearity of the method ranged from 10 to 1000 ppm with a limit of detection for neomycin B of about 7 ppm. After a simple dilution and filtering pretreatment step, neomycin components in three real samples were successfully analyzed without any major interference. Due to its simplicity and reliability, this method could provide an excellent alternative to the assays currently listed in U.S. and European Pharmacopoeia. The experiments were performed on a portable capillary electrophoresis system and, hence, the method can be readily applied to field analysis and point-of-care testing. Figure Photo of portable CE-P2-PGD system