A rapid separation of 21 amines by high-performance capillary zone ele
ctrophoresis with indirect photometric detection is presented. The ele
ctrolyte is based on copper(II) as primary constituent. Factors affect
ing the separation by this electrolyte have been investigated and incl
ude the composition of the buffer, the voltage, the temperature and th
e mode of injection. External calibration was used to characterize the
analytical response to each amine, The detection limits were approxim
ately 0.05 mu g mL(-1) for almost all the amines. After electrokinetic
or hydrodynamic injection calibration plots of peak area against conc
entration were linear between 0.05 and 10 mu g mL(-1). The method has
been applied to the analysis of biogenic amines in synthetic samples;
the recoveries of the amines from such samples, determined by the stan
dard addition technique, were in the range 90 to 110 %.