Resolution in capillary electrophoresis with nonaqueous methanol as solvent: theoretical prediction and experimental confirmation.

The resolution of the analytes was predicted from their known pKa* values and actual mobilities in nonaqueous methanolic solutions according to theory taking longitudinal diffusion as the only cause for peak dispersion. This leads to an equation of the resolution as a function of the pH*, as both selectivity and efficiency are dependent on the pH of the buffer. The experimentally obtained resolution values were in acceptable agreement with the predicted theoretical ones in most cases. This was demonstrated for substituted benzoic acids as analytes. The pKa* values needed for the calculation of the resolution were derived from the pH* dependence of the effective mobility. The pH* scale in methanol was based on conventional pKa* values of acetic acid and chloroacetic acid taken from the literature.