Nanosized cation exchanger for the electrophoretic separation and preconcentration of catecholamines and amino acids

The first example of application of nanosized polystyrene-based cation exchanger (NSCE) with sulfo groups as a dynamic coating of capillary walls was demonstrated. The conditions of dynamic coating formation were optimized and ensured the long-term stability of the coating. Capillary-to-capillary and day-to-day repeatabilities were 4% and 3%, correspondingly. The NSCE coating stability at various pH and influence of pH on the EOF mobility were investigated. The developed NSCE-modified coated capillaries provided improved resolution (R_s = 0.9–3.2 for catecholamines and R_s = 1.7–2.8 for amino acids) and efficiencies (330–520 ×10³ t.p./m) of basic analytes, which are 1.5 times higher compared to untreated capillary. The optimized conditions were as follows: 50 mM phosphate buffer solution at pH 2.2 with 5 μM NSCE. The effect of the NSCE concentration in BGE on the electrophoretic mobilities of the analytes was investigated. The various online concentration techniques were tested in order to decrease the LODs. The simultaneous application of NSCE capillaries and field-amplified sample stacking provided the lowest LODs of catecholamines and amino acids and allowed to determine these analytes in human urine.