Separation of anilines by capillary electrophoresis with small ionic compounds as buffer additives

Addition of either ethanesulfonic acid or protonated triethylamine to the background electrolyte was found to markedly improve the separation of protonated anilines by capillary electrophoresis. These additives appear to form a thin coating on the capillary surface via a dynamic equilibrium. This results in a change in electroosmotic flow and reduces interactions of the sample cations with the silica surface. A mixture of 10 substituted anilines could be separated, including several positional isomers. Migration times of the sample cations were reproducible with a RSD less than 1.0%.