Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography MEKC

Sometimes, a surfactant molecule (at a concentration above its critical micellar concentration) is added for the optimization of chiral resolution 

A few reports are available on chiral separations of pollutants using this modality of liquid chromatography. The separated chiral pollutants are 2-(2-chlorophenoxy)propionic acid and 2-(4-chlorophenoxy)propionic acid on n-alkyl-)8-D-glucopyranoside [17], ibuprofens on vancomycin [18] and PCBs on y-cyclodextrin [19]. Marina etal. [20] reported chiral separations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) 45, 84, 88, 91, 95, 132, 136, 139, 149, 171, 183 and 196 by MEKC using cyclodextrin chiral selectors. Mixtures of and y-cyclodextrins were used as chiral modifiers in a 2-(yV-cyclohexylamino)ethanesulfonic acid (CHES) buffer containing urea and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles. A mixture of PCBs 45, 88, 91, 95, 136, 139, 149 and 196 was separated into all 16 enantiomers in an 

Chiral pollutants Sample matrix CSPs Detection References 

2-Phenoxypropionic -acid, warfarin, ibuprofen Capillary electrochromatography (CEC) Proteins 23 

Separation in Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography (MEKC) is based on partitioning of the analyte molecules between the aqueous run buffer and the core of micelles, which are contained in the run buffer. The technique is essentially a hybrid between CE and liquid chromatography (LC). The run buffer and micelles are moved through the capillary by an applied electric field. The analytes are dragged with the bulk solution. Similar to LC, the analytes partition between two phases, in this case two mobile phases, the hydrophilic run buffer and the hydrophobic micelles. Unlike other electrophoresis modes, MEKC can distinguish between different neutral compounds according to their hydrophobicity. 

MEKC was developed in the 1980s by a Japanese scientist, Shigeru Terabe. The method was initially developed for the separation of neutral compounds, but it has proven to be capable of separating both neutral and ionic compounds. Application 

MEKC instrumentation is not different from the apparatus used for capillary zone electrophoresis (chapter 3.3.2). The only deviation is that the run buffer contains micelles. MEKC is sometimes also referred to as micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MECC). The signals are recorded as an electrokinetic chromatogram with signal intensity versus time. 

When an electric field is applied over a capillary containing an aqueous buffer with SDS micelles, then the EOF is directed towards the cathode. The surface of the SDS micelles is negatively charged. Thus, the micelles have an electrophoretic mobility towards the anode. Usually the EOF is dominant, hence, the micelles 

It is possible to measure to by adding a hydrophilic compound such as methanol to the buffer. Methanol does not partition into the hydrophobic micelles core. It is eluted at to- Totally hydrophobic compounds can be used to measure tmc- For example, the dye Sudan III is completely solubilised by the micelles and passes the detector at tmc- 

A low concentration of an ionic surfactant in the capillary electrolyte can also be used to modify the migration behavior of sample ions. A cationic surfactant such as cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) is often used for anion separations, and SDS is often used when cations are to be separated. Kenata et al. [11] found that CTAC decreased the effective electrophoretic mobilities of several inorganic anions as the result of two processes  

Ion association equilibration with monomeric surfactant occurs at concentrations below the critical micelle concentration (CMC). 

Partitioning into the micelle at concentrations occurs above the CMC. 

A plot of the redprocal of the effective electrophoretic mobility for iodide against surfactant concentration gave two linear segments. The slope of the segment above the CMC was greater because of partitioning of iodide into the micelle. 

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CE was recently used for anthocyanin analysis because of its excellent resolution. This technique has different modes capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE), capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE), micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC), capillary electrochromatography (CEC), capillary isoelectric focusing (CIEE), and capillary isotachophoresis (CITP)."° CZE is the most popular method for anthocyanin... 

A variety of formats and options for different types of applications are possible in CE, such as micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC), isotachophoresis (ITP), and capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE). The main applications for CE concern biochemical applications, but CE can also be useful in pesticide methods. The main problem with CE for residue analysis of small molecules has been the low sensitivity of detection in the narrow capillary used in the separation. With the development of extended detection pathlengths and special optics, absorbance detection can give reasonably low detection limits in clean samples. However, complex samples can be very difficult to analyze using capillary electrophoresis/ultraviolet detection (CE/UV). CE with laser-induced fluorescence detection can provide an extraordinarily low LOQ, but the analytes must be fluorescent with excitation peaks at common laser wavelengths for this approach to work. Derivatization of the analytes with appropriate fluorescent labels may be possible, as is done in biochemical applications, but pesticide analysis has not been such an important application to utilize such an approach. 

For many applications, diode array detection has become routine. A photodiode array was used for simultaneous detection of 100 capillaries in zone electrophoresis and micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC).1516 Deflection of a laser beam by acoustic waves was reported as a means to scan six capillary channels on a microchip.17 The design of a low-noise amperometric detector for capillary electrophoresis has been reported.18... 

Micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) and capillary electroki-netic chromatography (CEC) are, as their names imply, chromatographic techniques... 

CE is a family of techniques similar to those found in conventional electrophoresis zone electrophoresis, displacement electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing (IEF), and sieving separations. Other modes of operation unique to CE include micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) and capillary electrochromatography (CEC). 

Subsequently four different CE modes are described in the sections Capillary Zone Electrophoresis, Capillary Gel Electrophoresis, Capillary Isoelectric Focussing, and Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography (MEKC), respectively. The fundamental principles of the specific separation modes are briefly explained, using appropriate equations where required. In Table 3 all equations are listed. In addition, the influence of both instrumental parameters and electrolytic solution parameters on the optimization of separations is described. 

For evaluation of impurities, the various methods of CE can be employed,i.e., capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE), micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC),... 

Pluym et al. compared the use of CE to that of HPLC in chemical and pharmaceutical quality control. They stated that CE could be considered as a complementary technique to HPLC because of its large separation capacity, its simplicity, and its economical benefits. Jimidar et al. decided that CE offers high separation efficiency and can be applied as an adjunct in HPLC method validation. Mol et al. evaluated the use of micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI—MS) in impurity profiling of drugs, which resulted in efficient separations. 

Dedicated applications of capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) coupled to MS are discussed, particularly in the field of drug analysis. Development of other capillary-based electrodriven separation techniques such as non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE), micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC), and capillary electrochromatography (CEC) hyphenated with MS are also treated. The successful coupling of these electromigration schemes with MS detection provides an efficient and sensitive analytical tool for the separation, quantitation, and identification of numerous pharmaceutical, biological, therapeutic, and environmental compounds. 

Besides CZE and NACE, micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) is also widely used, and ionic micelles are used as a pseudo-stationary phase. MEKC can therefore separate both ionic and neutral species (see Chapter 2). Hyphenating MEKC with ESI/MS is problematic due to the non-volatility of micelles, which contaminate the ionization source and the MS detector, resulting in increased baseline noise and reduced sensitivity. However, MEKC—ESI/MS was applied by Mol et al. for identifying drug impurities in galantamine samples. Despite the presence of non-volatile SDS, all impurities were detected with submicrogram per milliliter sensitivity and could be further characterized by MS/MS. 

Figure 13.9 Microchip-based micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) electro-pherogram of a mixture of nitroaromatics and nitramines. Analytes 20 ppm of each (1) TNB, (2) DNB, (3) NB, (4) TNT, (5) tetryl, (6) 2,4-DNT, (7) 2,6-DNT, (8) 2-, 3-, and 4-NT, (9) 2-Am-4,6-DNT, (10) 4-Am-2,6-DNT. Conditions MEKC buffer, 50 mM borate, pH 8.5, 50 mM SDS, 5 M Cy7, separation voltage 4 kV, separation distance 65 mm. (Reprinted in part with permission from [37]. Copyright 2000 American Chemical Society.)...

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