Capillary electrophoresis solute-wall interactions

Interactions between the solutes and the capillary wall also have a negative effect on the efficiency in capillary zone electrophoresis. Both hydrophobic interactions and electrostatic interactions of cations with the negatively charged capillary wall can be the cause of solute adsorption. Significant adsorption has been found for high-molecular-weight species, e.g., peptides and proteins. Because of the increased surface-area-to-volume ratio of narrow-bore capillaries, this effect is even more pronounced. 

Nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) involves the separation of analytes in a medium composed of organic solvents. The viscosity and dielectric constants of organic solvents affect both sample ion mobility and the level of EOF. The changes in separation selectivity in nonaqueous conditions contribute to a better separation of some substances that have very small charge-to-mass differences in aqueous phases (linear alkylbenzene sulfonates, or triazines). Further adsorption on the capillary wall and/or ion interactions, which cause solute precipitation (e.g., anionic surfactants with cations), can be avoided using NACE. 

Several different analytical and ultra-micropreparative CEC approaches have been described for such peptide separations. For example, open tubular (OT-CEC) methods have been used 290-294 with etched fused silicas to increase the surface area with diols or octadecyl chains then bonded to the surface.1 With such OT-CEC systems, the peptide-ligand interactions of, for example, angiotensin I-III increased with increasing hydrophobicity of the bonded phase on the capillary wall. Porous layer open tubular (PLOT) capillaries coated with anionic polymers 295 or poly(aspartic acid) 296 have also been employed 297 to separate basic peptides on the inner wall of fused silica capillaries of 20 pm i.d. When the same eluent conditions were employed, superior performance was observed for these PLOT capillaries compared to the corresponding capillary zone electrophoresis (HP-CZE) separation. Peptide mixtures can be analyzed 298-300 with OT-CEC systems based on octyl-bonded fused silica capillaries that have been coated with (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane (APS), as well as with pressurized CEC (pCEC) packed with particles of similar surface chemistry, to decrease the electrostatic interactions between the solute and the surface, coupled to a mass spectrometer (MS). In the pressurized flow version of electrochromatography, a pLC pump is also employed (Figure 26) to facilitate liquid flow, reduce bubble formation, and to fine-tune the selectivity of the separation of the peptide mixture. 

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