Sensitive determination of inorganic anions at trace levels in samples of snow water from Sierra Nevada (Granada, Spain) by capillary ion electrophoresis using calix[4]arene as selective modifier

A highly sensitive and selective capillary ion electrophoretic (CIE) method has been established to show the applicability of this separation techniqu e to the determination of some of the onions usually found in water samples . The ions were monitored by UV spectrophotometry with diode-array detectio n in presence of sulfonated calixarene compounds as organic modifiers in th e electrophoretic buffer medium. The instrumental variables affecting the s ensitivity and resolution of the mixture were carefully optimized. Snow wat er samples were been selected for analytical determination of iodide, chlor ide, sulfate nitrite, phosphate, and nitrate anions at ng mL(-1) levels. Th e repeatability and reproducibility were calculated and were in the range 2 .1 to 5.4% for the analytes determined.