This review focuses on the indirect photometric detection of anions and cations by capillary electrophoresis. Special emphasis has been placed on the sensitivity of the technique and approaches taken to enhance detection limits. Theoretical considerations and requirements have been discussed, including buffering, detection sensitivity, separation of cations, and detector linearity. A series of tables detailing highly absorbing probes and the conditions of their use for indirect photometric detection are included.

A miniaturized capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detector (mini-C(4)D) cell has been designed which is small enough to allow it to slide along the effective capillary length inside the capillary cassette of an Agilent capiillary electrophoresis system (CE) (or other CE brand of similar construction), including the possibility of positioning it close to the point of optical detection (4 cm), or even putting two such detector cells in one cassette. The cell was tested and the performance characteristics (noise, sensitivity, and peak width) were compared with those obtained with the previously used large C(4)D cell. No significant differences were observed. The mini-C(4)D was used in simultaneous separations of common cations and anions where its advantage over a larger C(4)D cell is the ability to vary the point of detection with the mini-C(4)D cell continuously at any point along the capillary length, so that the optimum apparent selectivity can be chosen. Other applications include providing a convenient second point of detection in addition to photometric detection, such as to measure accurately the linear velocity of a zone, or to allow placement of two mini-C(4)D cells in one capillary cassette simultaneously.

Stacking techniques used independently and also with a high-sensitivity cell (HSC) were employed to optimise sensitivity and detection limits in the direct photometric detection of the following eight arsenic species by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE): arsenite, arsenate, monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), 4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenylarsonic acid (Roxarsone), p-aminophenylarsonic acid (p-ASA), 4-nitrophenylarsonic acid (4-NPAA), and phenylarsonic acid (PAA) (target analytes). The stacking mechanisms, optimised stacking and separation conditions, and concentration sensitivity enhancement factors were discussed and compared for (i) normal stacking mode (NSM, sometimes also referred to as field-amplified stacking) in an uncoated fused-silica capillary in the counter-electroosmotic flow (EOF) mode, (ii) large-volume sample stacking (LVSS) with polarity switching, and (iii) the less often applied stacking method of co-EOF NSM stacking with EOF reversal using a poly(diallydimethylammonium chloride) (PDDAC)-coated capillary. The optimal injection volumes were 7.4, 60 and 17.2% of the total capillary volume, for the above three methods, respectively. LVSS with polarity switching gave the lowest limit of detection (LOD). The use of the HSC further reduced the LOD of each target analytes by a factor of 5-8 times. By combining LVSS and HSC, LODs of the target analytes could be reduced by a factor of 218-311, to 5.61, 9.15, 11.1, and 17.1 microg/L for As(III), DMA, MMA, and As(V), respectively. The method was demonstrated to be applicable to the determination of the target analytes in tap water and lake water, with recoveries in the range of 89.4-103.3%.

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In this work, using a combination of experimental design (ED) and artificial neural networks (ANN), the composition of a triethanolamine-buffered chromate electrolyte was optimised for determination of sulphate anions in the presence of high chloride excess. The optimal electrolyte, allowing a baseline-resolved separation of sulphate from chloride present in a 1500 multiple excess in less than 170 s, consists of 10 mmol/L CrO(3), 2 mmol/L hexamethonium hydroxide, 10% methanol, and triethanolamine added to adjust the pH to 8.0. The method is suitable to a wide concentration range of chloride (4-1757 mg/L) and sulphate (4-590 mg/L) with linear calibration plots (R(2) = 0.9937-0.9999). Relative standard deviations are less than 2.0% for both anions for migration times and peak areas. The detection limits (hydrodynamic injection of 1 s) were 0.6 mg/L for sulphate and 0.5 mg/L for chloride. The method was successfully applied to determination of sulphate in mineral waters containing a high chloride concentration and to determination of sulphate traces in an anticancer drug injection preparation containing a physiological level of chloride. It was shown that alpha-cyclodextrin as an electrolyte additive has a significant potential for further increasing the separation selectivity for inorganic anions.

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The optical and acid-base characteristics of BrPADAP and ClPADAP were studied in mixed water-ethanol and water-DMF media and in 10% ethanol medium in the presence of cationic, anionic and nonionic tensides. The composition, optical characteristics, molar absorption coefficients and equilibrium constants of the ML and ML2 complexes with zinc(II) ions were found by graphical analysis and numerical interpretation of the absorbance curves by the modified SQUAD-G program. Optimal conditions were found for the spectrophotometric determination of Zn(II) in the presence of 0.1% Triton X-100 or 1% Brij 35 in alkaline media with pH = 6.5-10. BrPADAP and ClPADAP are the most sensitive reagents (ε = 1.3-1.6 . 105 mmol-1 cm2 at 557 and 560 nm, respectively) for the determination of zinc with high colour contrast of the reaction (Δλ = 104 nm) and selectivity similar to that for the other N-heterocyclic azodyes (PAN, PAR, etc.).