Cationic diazacrown ether for the separation of positional isomers by capillary electrophoresis

The use of a positively charged diazacrown ether, N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-1,4,10,13-tetraoxa-7,16-diazacyclooctadecane dichloride (1), in capillary electrophoresis is reported, for the first time. The addition of the cationic diazacrown 1 to the running buffer permitted the successful separation of positional isomers of aromatic anions such as naphthalenedisulfonate, naphthalenedicarboxylate and phthalate. At a concentration of 1 of 2 mM, all the analyte anions were completely separated in less than 5 min. The ion association constants of the solute anions with diazacrown 1 were evaluated and the findings are discussed.