Separation of some typical Krebs cycle acids by high-speed isotachophoresis

In order to perform a required separation, an experimental procedure for the selection of suitable operating conditions is suggested and discussed. It is based on measurements of the dependences of the relative effective mobilities of the components under investigation on the pH of the leading electrolyte. The procedure was applied to a set of typical Krebs cycle acids and the values of the relative effective mobilities measured are given in tables and graphs. A pH of 3.8 was selected as the most suitable. At this value, the acids investigated were successfully separated in less than 4 min using 0.011 M hydrochloric acid + beta-alanine as the leading electrolyte.