Comparison of microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography and solvent-modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) was investigated with t he goal of elucidating the influence exerted by the amount of lipophilic or ganic phase and the amount of co-surfactant on the migration of a number of neutral test solutes. Furthermore, MEEKC was compared to solvent-modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC). The organic solvents methano l, ethanol, 1-propanol, 1-butanol, acetonitrile, tetrahydrofuran, and 2-eth oxyethanol serving as co-surfactants in MEEKC were used in similar concentr ations in MEKC systems in order to compare the selectivity and separation e fficiency of the two kinds of system. The solvent-modifled MEKC technique p roved to be very similar to MEEKC in performance with respect to both separ ation selectivity and efficiency of separation.