Miniaturized CE System Based on Amperometric Detection and Horizontal Sampling

Abstract.

A novel miniaturized capillary electrophoresis (CE)-amperometric detection system has been fabricated by integrating a self-positioning electrode system and a 10-cm piece of fused silica capillary on a Plexiglas base plate. The self-positioning electrode system was composed of a disc working electrode positioned opposite the outlet of the capillary, with an Ag/AgCl reference electrode, a platinum auxiliary electrode, and a platinum grounding electrode accommodated in a rectangular detection cell on the plate. The platinum wire, close to the inlet of capillary, served as a contact to the high-voltage power supply. Alternate placement of the capillary inlet in vials containing sample or buffer solutions permits volume-defined electrokinetic sample introduction in a horizontal arrangement. Performance of this unique system was demonstrated by separating sugars, amino acids, and two phenols used in the pharmaceutical industry. The factors influencing the analytical performance of the new microsystem for the separation of p-aminophenol and acetaminophen have been characterized and optimized. The two analytes could be separated on baseline within 160 s in 50 mM acetate buffer (pH 5.0). Responses for p-aminophenol and acetaminophen were linear over the range of 10 to 1000 µM with detection limits (S/N=3) of 2.1 and 2.9 µM.