MICELLAR CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS OF THE ECDYSTEROIDS

The technique of micellar capillary electrophoresis has been applied t o the separation of ecdysteroids (polyhydroxylated insect hormones) bo th as pure standards and in the extracts of plants and insect eggs. Su ccesful separations of a range of closely related ecdysteroids were ob tained, however, the quality of the result was found to be critically dependent on the solvent in which the sample was applied and the degre e of purity of the extracts. The technique was found to be suitable fo r the analysis of purified ecdysteroid-rich extracts of plants (Silene nutans, S. otites) and the eggs of the desert locust (Schistocerca gr egaria). The elution order of the analytes was similar to that obtaine d using reversed-phase HPLC.