Modified field amplification sample injection for micellar electrokinetic chromatography of neutral compounds with amino-substituted cyclodextrin as carrier and 1-adamantanecarboxylate as displacer

A modified field amplification sample injection method was proposed and evaluated by using positively mono charged cyclodextrin (CD) as carrier and 1-adamantanecarboxylate as displacer for on-capillary preconcentration of neutral compounds and improvement of the concentration limit of detection in micellar electrokinetic chromatography. In modified sample injection mode a displacer plug was introduced before sample injection to reduce the length of the concentrated sample zone and increase the peak height by slowing down the forward movement of the neutral sample associated with β-CD-NH2 and the backward movement of the neutral sample partitioned in the micelles of sodium dodecyl sulfate. Stability of the inclusion complexes formed between the carrier and the solute was found to be an important factor affecting stacking efficiency in both the conventional field amplification sample injection mode and the modified one. However, further enhancement of the stacking efficiency in the modified mode rested on the relative stability of the displacer–carrier complex to that of the solute–carrier complex. Practical limits to the stacking efficiencies in both modes were discussed as well.