Analysis of Calix[4]arenes Using Nonaqueous Capillary Electrophoresis

Abstract

In nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE), an organic solvent is used in place of an aqueous medium as the background solution to improve the solubility and selectivity for hydrophobic analytes. In this study, we employed NACE with UV detection for the analysis of eight calix[4]arenes. We examined the influence of several parameters-the buffer composition, the nonaqueous solvent's composition and proportion, and the concentration of the electrolyte of the nonaqueous buffer-on the efficiency of the electrophoretic separation. The separation was achieved through the analyte's different effective mobility via different degrees of deprotonation on the phenolic OH groups of the calix[4]arene. This deprotonation can further affect the analyte's ability to form a complex with the metal ion. The optimized background electrolyte (BGE), comprising a mixture of N-methylformamide/acetonitrile (30:70, v/v) and 100 mM AcOH/20 mM NH4OAc, provided rapid (<11 min) separation of the calix[4]arenes with good resolution. The relative standard deviations of the migration times for the eight analytes were all less than 1%. Within the calibration concentration range, the coefficients of determination (R-2) were all greater than 0.9914. Thus, the present study demonstrated NACE can provide adequate separation for the analysis of calix[4]arenes.