ISOTACHOPHORESIS FOR PERIODATE-OXIDATION ANALYSIS OF A SMALL AMOUNT OF CARBOHYDRATE

The present study demonstrates that formate, periodate, and iodate, in a reaction mixture for periodate oxidation of carbohydrates, are simultaneously and conveniently determined by isotachophoretic analysis. The operating condition of the electrophoretic method involves the addition of 0.3 vol of dioxane and 0.2% Triton X-100 to a deoxygenated leading electrolyte of 10 mm HCl buffered with 20 mm imidazole, pH 7.0. These additives are essential for complete resolution of formate and periodate in respective zones. It has been shown that the analyzable amounts of these products in the oxidation reaction are less than 5 nmol which corresponds to less than μg of carbohydrates. This value is about one-thousandth of that required for the conventional methods of periodate oxidation analysis. © 1979.