Large-volume sample stacking combined with separation by 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin for analysis of isoxyzolylpenicillins by capillary electrophoresis.

A simple, quick and sensitive capillary electrophoretic technique has been developed for the pharmaceutical analysis of isoxazolylpenicillins (oxacillin, cloxacillin and dicloxacillin) at trace levels for the first time. This method comprises large-volume sample stacking using the electroosmotic flow (EOF) pump (LVSEP), separation using 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-beta-CD) as selective complex-forming background electrolyte additive, and direct UV detection. A complete resolution was achieved in the optimal background electrolyte containing 5.2 mM HP-beta-CD. LVSEP was successfully applied in their determinations to improve the sensitivity, where the EOF in the buffer zone was suppressed by using an acidic buffer with pH 3.6. The detection limits of the current technique were found to be 2.0 microg/L for each of the isoxazolylpenicillins based on the signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The curves of peak response versus concentration were linear from 5.0 to 400.0 microg/L with regression coefficients of 0.9982, 0.9986 and 0.9976, respectively. The interaction of isoxazolylpenicillins with HP-beta-CD was discussed. The association constants for complexes of HP-beta-CD with isoxazolylpenicillins were determined by electrophoretic method. The obtained association constants were 27.3, 34.9, and 48.5 M(-1), respectively, being proportional to their hydrophobic properties and steric hindrances. A simple and easy-manipulative sample preparation method was developed and validated by analyzing commercially available milk samples. It was found that with current sample preparation process and instrumentation system, 0.1 mL of milk sample is enough for the analysis of isoxazolylpenicillins to meet European Union (EU) guideline of 30 microg/kg.