Determination of peroxides by capillary zone electrophoresis with amperometric detection

The combination of cathodic amperometric detection with capillary zone electrophoresis is demonstrated to be a versatile method for the quantification of organic and inorganic peroxides. A gold microelectrode, polarized at -600 mV against an Ag/AgCl reference electrode, is placed at the end of the capillary. Since the electroosmotic flow purges the detector electrode from oxygen, no degassing of the detector cell or the sample is necessary. With an injection volume of ca. 1 nl, hydrogen peroxide, peroxosulfate, peroxy alkanoic acids and the hydroperoxides of linoleic acid can be detected down to 10 micromol/l. Separation of the isomeric hydroperoxides of the unsaturated fatty acids is achieved by addition of beta-cyclodextrin to the electrolyte.