Determination of alternative and conventional chelating agents as copper(II) complexes by capillary zone electrophoresis--the first use of didecyldimethylammonium bromide as a flow reversal reagent.

A capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method for analyzing 11 chelating agents [beta-alaninediacetic acid (beta-ADA), trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (CDTA), diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), N-(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediamine-N,N',N'-triacetic acid (HEDTA), N-(2-hydroxyethyl)iminodiacetic acid (HEIDA), iminodiacetic acid (IDA), methylglycinediacetic acid (MGDA), nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), 1,3-diaminopropane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (PDTA) and triethylenetetraaminehexaacetic acid (TTHA)] as negatively charged copper(II) complexes has been established. Both conventional and alternative chelating agents were included in this study, because they are used side by side in industrial applications. In this study, didecyldimethylammonium bromide (DMDDAB) was successfully used as a flow reversal reagent for the first time in an aqueous CZE method based on phosphate BGE with UV spectrophotometric detection. In addition this new flow modifier was compared to common TTAB. Method development was done using a fused silica capillary (61 cm x 50 microm i.d.). The optimized BGE was a 105 mmol L(-1) phosphate buffer with TTAB or DMDDAB in the concentration 0.5 mmol L(-1) at pH 7.1. The measurements were done with -20 kV voltage using direct UV detection at 254 nm. In both CZE methods all 11 analyte zones were properly separated (resolutions > or =2.4), and the calibrations gave excellent correlation coefficients (> or =0.998; linear range tested 0.5-2.0 mmol L(-1)). The limits of detection were < or =34 and < or =49 micromol L(-1) with the method of DMDDAB and TTAB, respectively. A clear benefit of both methods was the short analysis time; all 11 complexes were detected in less than 6 and 5.5 min with the methods of TTAB and DMDDAB, respectively. The two methods were tested with dishwashing detergents and paper mill wastewater samples and proved to be suitable for practical use.

Improving sensitivity in simultaneous determination of copper carboxylates by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis.

A new method of nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) with UV spectrophotometric detection was developed and optimized for the simultaneous determination of seven carboxylates (trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (CDTA), diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), N-(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediamine-N,N',N'-triacetic acid (HEDTA), nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), 1,3-diaminopropane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (PDTA) and triethylenetetraaminehexaacetic acid (TTHA)) as copper complexes. The method development was carried out by using a fused silica capillary. Background electrolyte (BGE) was optimized and the best separation achieved by using 30mmolL(-1) potassium bromide in N-methylformamide (NMF) at apparent pH (pH(app)) 10.2. A voltage of +30kV and direct UV detection at 280nm were used in all measurements. Large-volume sample stacking using the electroosmotic flow pump (LVSEP) was tested in addition to basic capillary electrophoresis (CE) and observed to improve the separation of the analyte zones in the capillary. All the peaks in the electropherograms were properly separated, the calibration plots gave excellent correlation coefficients (R(2)>or=0.994) and all seven copper carboxylate complexes were detected in less than 20min using both the basic measurements and the large-volume sample stacking method. The new NACE method was tested with lake water and proved to be reliable.

Separation of chelating agents as copper complexes by capillary zone electrophoresis using quaternary ammonium bromides as additives in N-methylformamide.

This study presents the use of quaternary ammonium bromides as additives in N-methylformamide (NMF) for the separation and quantification of chelating agents as copper complexes by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). The new quaternary ammonium bromides were synthesized in our laboratory and used for the first time for CZE applications performed in NMF media. The methods were developed and optimized for determination of six chelating agents (trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (CDTA), diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), N-(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediamine-N,N',N'-triacetic acid (HEDTA), nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) and triethylenetetraaminehexaacetic acid (TTHA)) as copper complexes. Among the tested electrolyte additives in NMF media (pH(app) 10.2) dimethyldioctylammonium bromide (DMDOAB), dimethyldinonylammonium bromide (DMDNAB) and dimethyldidecylammonium bromide (DMDDAB), at a concentration of 20 mmol L(-1) improved the separation of the copper complexes. The optimized methods require only 12 min for one analysis, and the detection limits for copper complexes of DMDNAB, the best-performing additive, were < or =24 micromol L(-1). Relative standard deviations (R.S.D.) for migration times were < or =2.5, < or =2.1, < or =3.1% and for peak areas, < or =3.1, < or =3.0, < or =3.2% for DMDOAB, DMDNAB and DMDDAB used as additives, respectively. All three methods were successfully applied to the analysis of natural and wastewater samples. No matrix effects from these samples were observed. The interaction between quaternary ammonium bromides and copper complexes is discussed.

A new ionic liquid dimethyldinonylammonium bromide as a flow modifier for the simultaneous determination of eight carboxylates by capillary electrophoresis.

Two new methods of capillary zone electrophoresis based on aqueous phosphate running buffers with UV spectrophotometric detection were developed and optimized for the determination of eight carboxylates as copper complexes. Metalcomplexes are negatively charged, so measurements were made as anion analyses with flow reversal in the capillary. Two flow modifiers were used: a common tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTAB) and a new ionic liquid dimethyldinonylammonium bromide (DMDNAB). The methods were compared to each other. Better separation was achieved with DMDNAB as the flow modifier. Method development was done using a fused silica capillary (61 cm x 50 microm i.d.). Optimization was done using 95 mmol L(-1) phosphate buffer with TTAB or DMDNAB in the concentration 0.5 mmol L(-1) at pH 7.1. A -20 kV voltage and direct UV detection at 254 nm was used in measurements. In both CE methods all the peaks in the electropherograms were properly separated, the calibration plots gave good correlation coefficients and all eight carboxylates were detected in less than 7.5 min. The two methods were tested with natural water samples and a paper mill sample, and proved to be feasible.

Simultaneous determination of DTPA, EDTA, and NTA by capillary electrophoresis after complexation with copper.

We present a method for simultaneous determination of the aminopolycarboxylic acids DTPA, EDTA and NTA in dishwashing detergents, paper mill waters, and natural waters by capillary electrophoresis (CE). The complexing agents were examined as their copper(II) complexes and separated by conventional CE with reversed polarity of the applied voltage. The optimum separation conditions were established by varying the pH and phosphate and tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTAB) concentrations in the run buffer. The separations were carried out in a fused-silica capillary (61 cmx75 microm i.d.) filled with phosphate buffer (80 mmol L(-1), TTAB concentration 0.5 mmol L(-1), pH 7.1, voltage -20 kV) using direct UV detection at 191 and 254 nm. With this CE method all the peaks in the electropherograms were properly separated, the calibration plots gave good correlation coefficients and all three complexing agents could be detected in less than 4 min. Linear calibration plots were obtained for CuDTPA, CuEDTA and CuNTA; limits of detection were 0.03 mmol L(-1) for all complexing agents and recoveries for all tested samples were within the range 104+/-7%. Results obtained from dishwashing detergent samples were found to be reliable and comparable with those from HPLC (R2=0.989) and UV-Vis (R(2)=0.985) methods.