CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS OF HERBICIDES .4. EVALUATION OF OCTYLMALTOPYRANOSIDE CHIRAL SURFACTANT IN THE ENANTIOMERIC SEPARATION OF FLUORESCENTLY LABELED PHENOXY ACID HERBICIDES AND THEIR LASER-INDUCED FLUORESCENCE DETECTION

A novel chiral nonionic surfactant, namely octyl-b-D-maltopyranoside ( OM), was evaluated in chiral capillary electrophoresis of fluorescentl y labeled phenoxy acid herbicides. The labeling of the analytes with 7 -aminonaphthalene-1,3-disulfonic acid (ANDSA) permitted a concentratio n detection limit of 5 X 10(-10) M using laser-induced fluorescence de tection. This limit of detection allowed the determination of ultradil uted solutions of the ANDSA-derivatized phenoxy acid herbicides whose concentration was as low as 10(-11) M (i.e. 2.2 ppt) by applying the c oncept of field-amplified sample stacking (FASS). The sample injection by FASS did not adversely affect separation efficiencies, resolution and reproducibility of the electrophoretic system, The tagging of the phenoxy acid herbicides with ANDSA increased the hydrophobicity of the analytes, thus favoring an enhanced solubilization of the derivatized herbicides in the OM micellar phase. The net results of this effect w ere a much shorter analysis time and an improved enantiomeric resoluti on of the derivatives when compared to underivatized phenoxy acid herb icides. The optimum surfactant concentration required for maximum reso lution decreased with increasing hydrophobicity of the analyte, with t he feast hydrophobic analyte requiring higher surfactant concentration , Because of the two permanently charged sulfonic acid groups of the A NDSA tag, the pH of the running electrolyte had little effect on the e nantiomeric resolution of the derivatized herbicides. Due to its salti ng-out effect and increasing the micellized surfactant concentration, increasing the ionic strength of the running electrolyte increased the enantiomeric resolution of the least hydrophobic analytes. Conversely , increasing the percent methanol in the running electrolyte decreased the enantiomeric resolution of the least hydrophobic analytes due to a decrease strength of solute-micelle association. For hydrophobic ana lytes, existed an optimum percent of methanol existed for maximum enan tiomeric resolution.