Micellar electrokinetic chromatography with bis(2-ethylhexyl)sodium sulfosuccinate vesicles: Determination of synthetic food antioxidants

Abstract

Capillary electrokinetic chromatography is suitable for the separation of mixtures of uncharged and charged solutes. In the present work the behavior of six synthetic food antioxidants – 2[3]- tert.-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole, 2,6-di- tert.-butyl- p-cresol, tercbutylhydroquinone, 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid propyl ester, 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid octyl ester and 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid dodecyl ester – was studied in a capillary electrophoresis system using capillary electrokinetic chromatography with vesicles of the surfactant bis(2-ethylhexyl)sodium sulfosuccinate (AOT). Several studies aimed at calculating the critical aggregation concentration of the surfactant were conducted to check that under the conditions used the AOT was in a state of aggregation. Having checked the association shown by the surfactant, we then explored the greater or lesser capacity of the antioxidants to interact with this compound. We followed the evolution of the molecular absorption spectra of each of the antioxidants in the presence of the surfactant at different concentrations and the retention factors were calculated at different pH values. Additionally, in order to determine which species – anionic or neutral – was present at the pH of the buffer used (boric/borate), the p K a values in acetonitrile–water (20:80) were obtained. Resolution and quantification of the antioxidants demand optimization of the variables involved in the system, such as the percentage of acetonitrile, the concentration of AOT and boric/borate buffer, pH, voltage, etc. When this part of the study had been completed, calibrations were obtained for each of the antioxidants, obtaining good linear correlation coefficients in all cases. Finally, we propose a method that allows the resolution of the six most employed antioxidants in a capillary electrophoretic system in 15 min, using electrokinetic chromatography with AOT as the pseudostationary phase.