Surfactant gradient methods using mixed systems of cethyltrimethylammonium chloride and nonionic surfactants possessing polyoxyethylene chains for electrokinetic separation of benzoate anions as model analytes.

Surfactant gradient methods for electrokinetic separation of 10 benzoates as model organic anions were investigated using mixed micellar solutions of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) and nonionic surfactants possessing polyoxyethylene chains, polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate (Tween 20) or polyoxyethylene lauryl ether (Brij 35). Electroosmotic flow (EOF) was eliminated virtually by a coating of the inner wall of the capillaries, and then the benzoates were detected fundamentally in the order of their hydrophobicity. In a pure CTAC system, the synergistic influences of attractive electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions gave rise to quite large retention factors of many of the benzoate anions, resulting in their coelution. Addition of an adequate amount of Tween 20 to the pure CTAC system decreased the electrostatic interaction significantly to give remarkably improved separation of the analytes, but long analysis time was required. A surfactant gradient method would be useful to decrease analysis time and to improve separation simultaneously. Under slight EOF, the micelles in the inlet reservoir can pass through and, thus, interact with all of the analytes before they were detected. In the present system, surfactant gradient separations could be performed simply by changing compositions of the surfactant solutions in the inlet reservoir during a single run. Additionally, we carried out continuous gradient separation using a simple device. Brij 35 gave an effect parallel to that by Tween 20 in migration behavior of the analytes. A practically negligible change in the level of the baseline was observed in a stepwise gradient elution with the CTAC/Brij 35 system because of the small absorbance at the detection wavelength, while that with the CTAC/Tween 20 was considerable. All the benzoates were separated completely within reasonable analysis times using both stepwise and continuous gradient programs for the concentrations of Tween 20 or Brij 35 in the presence of 100 mM CTAC.