Capillary isotachophoretic determinations of metal ions by use of complexation equilibria in acetone-water medium

The determination of metal ions by capillary isotachophoresis and the complexation equilibria between metal ions and polyaminopolycarboxylic acids has been investigated. A seven-component mixture of metal ions can be separated in 45% v/v acetone-water medium when EDTA or DCTA is used as the terminating ion. Linear calibration graphs are obtained for a standard mixture of Mn(+), Cu(2+), Zn(2+), Cd(2+), Pb(2+) and Fe(3+) in the range 0.5-5.0 nmole, with relative standard deviations of 1.0% or better. The effective mobilities of the Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes increase in parallel with the stability constants, except for the Cu(II) complexes. It is concluded that the abnormal behaviour of the Cu(II) complexes may be attributed to a difference in steric configuration.