Separation of selected anesthetic drugs by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis

The potential of nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis was investigated for the separation of selected anesthetic drugs. The effect of parameters, such as methanol-acetonitrile composition, temperature: apparent pH* and ionic strength of the electrophoretic media on migration times and selectivity wa s discussed. The capillary electrophoresis separation of these drugs was co mpared in aqueous and nonaqueous media. The best separation was achieved wi th a fused silica capillary (48.5 cm total length x 50 mu m LD.), a buffer electrolyte solution composed of 25 mM ammonium acetate in methanol, an app lied voltage of 30 kV and a temperature of 10 degrees C. Replicate injectio ns under the optimal nonaqueous conditions gave acceptable precision data f or migration times and peak areas.