CAPILLARY ZONE ELECTROPHORESIS OF 11 PRIORITY PHENOLS WITH INDIRECT FLUORESCENCE DETECTION

A scheme for the separation and detection of eleven priority phenols using capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) coupled with laser-induced indirect fluorimetry is described. With a 50 cm x 20 mu m I.D. capillary at 9 kV and an electrophoretic buffer of 15 mM sodium berate (pH 9.9) containing 1 mM fluorescein, complete separation of the eleven compounds can be performed in less than 14 min. Linearity over two orders of magnitude of concentration was generally obtained and limits of detection for the priority phenols were in the ppb (10(-6)-10(-7) M) range. Quantitative applicability of CZE-indirect fluorimetry was demonstrated by analysing the standard reference material NIST SRM 1584 (priority pollutant phenols in methanol). The method was also applied to the determination of phenols in industrial wastewaters.