Reproducible and high-speed separation of basic drugs by capillary zone electrophoresis

The complete separation of a mixture of seventeen basic drugs of different classes was achieved with capillary zone electrophoresis in 11 min. The migration time reproducibility for individual components was between 0.5 and 1.7% relative standard deviation (R.S.D.). Peak detection was achieved by ultraviolet absorption, with peak-area reproducibility ranging from 1.5 to 6.3% R.S.D. The pH of the running buffer was critical in determining the separation of the mixture of basic drugs. The detection of most of these components in urine and plasma is also illustrated.