Indirect detection of organic acids in non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis

Non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) with indirect detection has been applied to the determination of fatty acids (FAs) and ascorbic acid (AA), respectively. C-2-C-18 FAs have been separated in less than 12 min using 8-hydroxy-7-iodoquinoline sulfonic acid as chromophores in NACE with indirect absorbance. The dissociation constant (pK(a)) values of C-8-C-18 FAs obtained from the slope of the linear plot -log [(mu(0)/mu)-1] vs pH, using 20% isopropanol and 40% acetonitrile as the organic modifier in NACE, are all above about two units than those obtained in aqueous solution. NACE with indirect laser-induced fluorescence, using merocyanine 540 (MC540) as fluorophores, has been performed to the analysis of AA and its stereoisomer, isoascorbic acid (IAA), and the limits of detection of AA and IAA are 0.30 mu M and 0.17 mu M, respectively. This method has been applied to the determination of AA in a lemon juice spiked with IAA as the internal standard in less than 3 min and its concentration is 76.7+/-0.4 mM. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.