Analysis of sulfonated compounds by ion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Ion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography (HPIEC)-mass spectromet ry (MS) was used for the analysis of different sulfonated compounds. HPIEC was performed on an aminopropyl column applying a gradient with increasing concentration of a buffer consisting of ammonium acetate-acetic acid and ac etonitrile as the organic modifier. HPIEC is well suited to highly efficien t separation of sulfonated compounds and furthermore, due to the volatility of ammonium acetate, the method is also appropriate for LC-MS coupling by the means of either atmospheric pressure chemical ionization or electrospra y ionization. The applicability range of HPIEC-MS is demonstrated on the ba sis of a complex mixture of model substances consisting of sulfonated aroma tics and textile dyes largely differing from each other in their structural properties. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.