Internal Standard Capillary Electrophoresis as a High-Throughput

Aug 29, 2014 - Sami El Deeb , Hermann Wätzig , Deia Abd El-Hady , Cari Sänger-van de Griend , Gerhard K. E. Scriba. ELECTROPHORESIS 2016 37 (12), ...
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Internal Standard Capillary Electrophoresis as a High Throughput Method for pKa Determination in Drug Discovery and Development Joan Marc Cabot, Elisabet Fuguet, and Marti Roses ACS Comb. Sci., Just Accepted Manuscript • DOI: 10.1021/co500059p • Publication Date (Web): 29 Aug 2014 Downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org on September 7, 2014

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Internal Standard Capillary Electrophoresis as a

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High-Throughput Method for pKa Determination in

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Drug Discovery and Development.

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Joan M. Cabot, Elisabet Fuguet and Martí Rosés*

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Departament de Química Analítica and Institut de Biomedicina (IBUB), Universitat de

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Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1-11, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain

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KEYWORDS

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Acidity constant, IS-CE, High-throughput method, pKa determination, Internal standard,

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Capillary electrophoresis.

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ABSTRACT

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A novel high-throughput method for determining acidity constants (pKa) by capillary

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electrophoresis (CE) is developed. The method, based on the use of an internal standard (IS-CE),

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is implemented as a routine method for accurate experimental pKa determination of drugs

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undergoing physicochemical measurements in drug discovery laboratories. Just two

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electropherograms at 2 different pH values are needed to calculate an acidity constant. Several

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ISs can be used in the same buffer and run to enhance precision. With 3 ISs, for example, the

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pKa of the test compound (TC) can be obtained in triplicate in less than 3 minutes of

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electrophoresis. It has been demonstrated that the IS-CE method eliminates some systematic

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errors, maintaining or even increasing the precision of the results compared with other methods.

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Furthermore, pH buffer instability during electrophoretic runs is not a problem in the IS-CE

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method. It is also proved that after 16 hours of electroseparation using the same buffer vial, pH

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may change by around one unit; but the pKa calculated by the IS-CE method remains constant.

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Thus, IS-CE is a powerful high-throughput method for pKa determination in drug discovery and

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development.

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GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT (TOC)

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INTRODUCTION

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Drug discovery has undergone considerable changes with the advent of novel technologies and

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strategies that have given rise to new opportunities for gathering and integrating information, and

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which can increase the success and efficiency of drug discovery. Pharmaceutical companies

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synthesize a large number of potential drugs and chemical precursors in relatively short

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periods.1,2 Those that are those most suitable are then selected for further testing and

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development. As a consequence, high-throughput screening for rapid evaluation of compounds is

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needed as soon as they are available from synthesis.3–5

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Physicochemical parameters are frequently used as predictors of ADME properties

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(absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion) of drugs. One important physicochemical

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property that affects the pharmaceutical potential of a compound is its acid–base dissociation,

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defined by its acidity constant (or pKa on a logarithmic scale). Many potential drugs are weak

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acids or bases, and their performance in advanced studies depends strongly on their pKa, since it

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determines the degree of ionization of the compound under given conditions of pH. Therefore, in

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drug discovery there is a major need for fast pKa determination of a large

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compounds.5,6

number of

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Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) has been widely used as a technique for aqueous pKa

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determination.7–15 It is a highly automated technique which requires only small amounts of the

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sample and reagents. In addition, CZE does not require substances with a high degree of purity

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because it allows for the separation of impurities and decomposition products from the main

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compound. Thus, CZE is an attractive alternative compared to the most common techniques for

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pKa determination, such as potentiometric or spectrophotometric titrations, which have some

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limitations based on the sample quantity, solubility, or purity, among other factors.13–15

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The classic capillary electrophoresis (CE) method for acidity constant determination involves

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measuring the mobility of the substance of interest at several pH values which are set by the

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preparation of suitable buffers at constant ionic strength in different pH ranges.16,17 However, the

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classic CZE method is quite slow and not very useful for high-throughput screening. It also has

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other limitations: interactions between the compound being studied and the different buffers

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must be avoided; and it requires strict control of temperature to minimize the Joule effect. If

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such undesired effects are not avoided, deviations in the mobility vs. pH curve can result, which

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affect the final pKa determination. A faster method to determine acidity constants by CE based

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on the use of internal standards (ISs) was recently developed by our research group.18 The IS-CE

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method is based on the use of an IS with a similar pKa value to that of the test compound (TC).

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The IS and the TC are supposed to behave in the same way under the same measurement

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conditions. Therefore if they are injected together, the differences in the mobility values of the

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compounds can be directly related to differences in their acidity. Provided that the pKa of the IS

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is well known, the pKa of the drug can be calculated easily. So the IS-CE method benefits from

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all the advantages of CE as a method for pKa determination, but in the IS-CE method far fewer

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measuring points are required. Furthermore, an external accurate measurement of the pH of the

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buffer solution is not needed because the IS allows the pH to be determined in situ inside the

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capillary.18,19

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IS-CE has been applied to determine the acidity constants of simple compounds, such as

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monoprotic and polyprotic ions with separated pKa values, as well as more complex ones,

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ranging from compounds with several close pKa values to others with acidity constants at the

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limits of the pH range that is useful in CE.20–22 The procedure requires a minimum of only 2 CE

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runs for each pKa value, which is determined through the ratio between the mobility of the TC

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and that of the IS. It has been demonstrated that the IS-CE method minimizes the effect of

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interactions between the TC and the buffer components,20 and the use of an adequate IS corrects

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possible systematic experimental errors, such as temperature or pH variations during the .23 In

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previous work, a set of suitable ISs (acidic and basic monoprotic compounds) with different

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chemical structure and pKa values that cover the entire pH range that is useful for CE was

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established.20,21 Table 1 lists this proposed set, which is used and tested in the current work.

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Although IS-CE is a fast method, it cannot be considered a genuine high-throughput method as

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several parameters have not yet been optimized. Capillary conditioning processes prior to

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analysis take some time, and electrophoretic determination could be improved to become faster,

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particularly at low pH values where the electroosmotic flow is very slow. Consequently, here we

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sequentially test and optimize several instrumental parameters and different experimental

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conditions in order to reduce run time and both the pre- and post-conditioning steps as much as

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possible without losing precision. Furthermore, other important aspects of the implementation of

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the method for accurate experimental pKa determination in day-to-day analysis in

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physicochemical measurement laboratories are checked and improved where possible; for

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instance, the use of consecutive injections or the stability of the ISs and separation buffers.

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THEORY The apparent mobility of a compound (µ ap) is the sum of the electrophoretic (µ ep) and electroosmotic flow (µ EOF) mobilities and can be expressed by means of eq 1:

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µ ap=µ ep+µ EOF

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Any of these mobilities can easily be calculated from the capillary length to the detector (LD,

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usually in cm), the electric field applied (E, in V·cm-1), the observed migration times of the

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compound (tm) and an electroosmotic flow marker (t0). Thus:

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μ 

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μ  

108

(1)



(2)



 







 

(3)



where E is calculated from the applied potential (V) and the total capillary length (LT) thus: 

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E

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For an ionizable acid–base compound, the electrophoretic mobility depends on the degree (or

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degrees) of ionization of the compound. Thus, the general acid–base equilibria for a monoprotic

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species, HXz, can be expressed as:

(4)





pK   pH  log !" #

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HXz

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where z is the charge of the protonated species and pKa’ the logarithmic form of the acidity

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Xz-1 + H+

(5)

constant (at a given ionic strength).

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The µ ep, also called the effective mobility (µ eff), of a monoprotic compound can be expressed

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as a function of the pKa’ of the species and the pH of the background electrolyte through the

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following general equation8:

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μ $$ 

/

%&' ()%' * +,&,-.

(6)

/

( +,&,-.

where μ" and μ are the limiting electrophoretic mobilities of the subscripted species.

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In the classic CE method, the pH of the buffer solution is measured by potentiometry and

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related to the mobility of the compound in the same buffered solution measured by CE. In the IS-

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CE method, both parameters are obtained at the same time in the same CE experiment. The use

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of an IS allows direct calculation of the pH of the buffered solution inside the capillary. This

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value is then used to calculate pKa’ of the compound being studied.

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For example, for a neutral acid used as the IS, where z is 0, the pH value can be given, by rearranging eq 6, by: pH  pK )12*  log

%34 5%677)34* %677)34*

(7)

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where μ $$)12* is the effective mobility and μ12 the limiting mobility (mobility of the fully-

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charged negative species) of the IS. The term corresponding to the uncharged species, μ" , has

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zero mobility and is removed from eq 6. Since pK )12* of the IS is well known, only two runs at

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two different pH values are needed to calculate the pH: the first where the pH is in the range pKa

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± 1, in order to calculate the effective mobility; and a second in which it is completely ionized to

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calculate the limiting mobility.

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Once the pH inside the capillary is known, the acidity constant of the TC can be calculated by rearranging eq 6 again: %

 5 %677):*

pK )89*  pH  log % &'

677):* 5 %'

(8)

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where μ" and μ refer to the limiting mobilities of the fully-charged z and z-1 species of the

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TC.

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In these equations, pK )89* is related to the thermodynamic pKa by the activity coefficients, calculated by means of the Debye-Hückel equation.22

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EXPERIMENTAL

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Apparatus

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CE experiments were performed with a P/ACE MDQ Beckman instrument (Palo Alto, CA,

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USA), equipped with a diode-array spectrophotometric detector. The capillary was made of

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fused silica, 50 µm I.D., 375 µm O.D., 35.2 cm length (25 cm to the detector) and was obtained

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from Composite Metal Services Ltd (Shipley, West Yorkshire, UK). The temperature of the

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capillary was set to 25.0ºC±0.1ºC. The TCs and ISs were injected sequentially (one-by-one

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before separation) at a hydrodynamic pressure of 0.5 psi for 3 s (1 psi = 6897.76 Pa), and the

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applied voltage during separation was 20 kV. An additional 0.5 psi of hydrodynamic flow was

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applied during separation. The UV detector was set at 214, 254 and 280 nm.

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Chemicals

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Dimethyl sulfoxide >99.9% (DMSO), 0.5 M sodium hydroxide tritisol, 0.5 M hydrochloric

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acid tritisol, and sodium dihydrogenphosphate monohydrate >99% were obtained from Merck

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(Darmstadt, Germany). Anhydrous sodium acetate >99.6% was purchased from J.T. Baker

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(Deventer, Netherlands). 2-(cyclohexylamino)ethanesulfonic acid >99% (CHES) and 3-

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(cyclohexylamino)-1-propanesulfonic acid >98% (CAPS) were purchased from Sigma (St.

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Louis, MO, USA). 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)-2,2’,2’’-nitrilotriethanol >99.9% (BisTris) and

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sodium formate were bought from Fluka (Buchs, Switzerland). Tris(hydroxylmethyl)amino-

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methane >99.9% (Tris) was purchased from Aldrich (Milwaukee, WI, USA). Water was purified

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using a Milli-Q plus system from Millipore (Bedford, MA, USA), to a resistivity of 18.2 MΩcm.

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The ISs and TCs used were reagent grade or of chromatographic quality and obtained from

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Sigma, Fluka, Aldrich, or Carlo Erba (Milan, Italy). Sample and buffer preparations are detailed in the Supporting Information, section 1.

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

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In order to consider IS-CE a high-throughput method for accurate experimental pKa

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determination in day-to-day analysis, instrumental parameters and experimental conditions need

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to be optimized to reduce the run time, conditioning steps and sample preparation as much as

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possible. IS and buffer solution stability must also be studied to be determine how many times

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they can be used before requiring replacement. The precision and accuracy of the method should

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also be established.

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Instrumental conditions

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In accordance with ideal requirements for the IS-CE method, a CE P/ACE MDQ Beckman

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instrument was selected as the most adequate for the method. The samples are placed in a

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different tray from the buffers and they can be removed easily from their position for storage.

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Moreover, the samples can be stored directly at 4ºC inside the instrument, and the instrument

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allows for the application of pressure during separation as well as sequential injecting.

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Modifications were made to the experimental conditions and methodology reported in previous

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work18–21,23 in order to minimize the analysis time. The capillary was cut to the minimum length

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the instrument configuration allows: 25.0 cm to the detector and 35.2 cm total length. In order to

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avoid the Joule effect, a voltage of 20 kV was selected as the maximum to maintain linearity

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between the voltage applied and the current generated (according to Ohm’s law) for all the

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buffers used. Under these capillary and voltage conditions, migration times were reduced

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compared to those in previous work, down to average analysis times of 3 minutes for anionic

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compounds, which are the last compounds eluted.

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To avoid the necessity to prepare solutions of specific mixtures of the TC and the appropriate

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ISs prior to the analysis, sequential injection was used. It must be taken into account that the

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sample plug length (TC plus IS plugs) should be less than 1% or 2% of the total length of the

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capillary to avoid overloading. Consequently, the lowest pressure that the instrument allowed

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(0.5 psi) was applied for the 3 seconds of injection time.

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In order to speed up the migration of the compounds, pressure was applied during separation:

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the higher the pressure, the shorter the migration times. However, high pressure may result in

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overlapping peaks. In order to optimize the pressure, the migration time and separation of several

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compounds with different structures and limiting mobilities were compared at different pressures

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(0.0, 0.2, 0.5 and 1.0 psi). The example shown in Figure 1 illustrates as when pressure increases,

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run time decreases, as does the resolution between peaks. 0.5 psi was chosen as the best

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compromise between high resolution and a short run time.

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Pre- and post-conditioning methods (at the beginning of the session; between injections with

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the same buffer; when the buffer is changed; and at the end of the working session) were

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optimized to reduce the rinsing time and, as a consequence, total analysis time. Table 2 shows

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the conditioning sequences after the optimization processes. The total rinsing time was

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drastically reduced just to obtain reproducible results.

209 210

A more detailed description of these processes is available in the Supporting Information (section 2. Instrumental conditions).

211 212

Electroosmotic flow marker

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Although many organic solvents can be used as EOF markers, the common use of DMSO in

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the syntheses of new drugs together with the fact that it is the most commonly used solvent for

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preparing compound libraries in the pharmaceutical industry24–26, make it appropriate for our

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purpose. Many potential samples may already have this EOF marker incorporated, prior to the

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analysis.27,28

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To test the performance of the marker, several compounds were totally dissolved in DMSO at

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a concentration of 1000 µg mL-1. Solutions were then prepared for injection at a concentration of

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100 µg mL-1 by dilution with water. When the samples were injected, significant peak tailing

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appeared due to the high concentration of DMSO (Figure 2a). For cationic compounds no

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problems were observed because they elute before the EOF marker; however, the anionic

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compounds were hardly detectable since they were diffused in the tail of the DMSO peak (Figure

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2b). Consequently, the quantity of DMSO in the samples was reduced twenty-fold. So that 4%

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DMSO was added to the stock solutions and the final volume was made up with water. After

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1/10 dilution, the content of DMSO in the injection vial was about 0.4%. In these conditions, the

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large peak tail disappeared, as shown in Figure 2c, thereby increasing the peak efficiency.

228 229

Stability of the buffers

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The buffers must satisfy several requirements for meaningful experimental results to be

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obtained. For use in CE, a buffer must have a good buffering capacity in the pH range of use and

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a low detection signal.16 The buffers should also be inert so that they do not interact with the

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analyte or the walls of the capillary. Moreover, the whole CE system must be filled with the

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same buffer in order to keep parameters, such as conductivity, electric field, temperature and pH,

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as constant as possible.10,16

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The precise determination of a pKa by CE requires the measurement of the effective mobility

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in several electrolytes with a low and constant ionic strength. This ionic strength must be low

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enough to minimize activity corrections, temperature gradients and viscosity differences; but

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there must be enough buffer capacity to maintain a fixed pH, even after introduction.16,23 Thus,

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an ionic strength of 0.05 M is a reasonable compromise between the need to minimize Joule heat

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production inside the capillary and the buffering capacity required. Several running solutions

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covering the pH range that is useful in CE system were prepared at this ionic strength. Table 3

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shows the buffers used, their pKa value and the stock solution used in their preparation. These

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buffers have an effective range of approximately two pH units, centered on their pKa value.

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The pH of the buffer can be affected by several factors, such as volatilization (e.g., ammonia

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buffers), electrolysis when a voltage is applied (almost all buffers), or even CO2 dissolution

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(NaOH and highly basic buffers), which cause changes in the pH and migration velocity of the

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compounds over time.17,29 Even though with the IS-CE method the pH of the buffer solution

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inside the capillary can be easily calculated for every run, it is important to know for how many

250

runs a buffer can be used before its properties stray from an acceptable range. Consequently, the

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recommended buffers were monitored over time to ensure that they kept their initial properties.

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One way to monitor stability is through the pH value. This is easy to monitor because the pH

253

inside the capillary can be calculated at any time just from knowing the pKa value and mobilities

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(limiting and effective) of any compound injected (in fact, of an IS) in a capillary filled with the

255

buffer under study.

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The pH values of all the buffers shown in Table 3 were monitored over time (every five

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minutes for a total of 16 hours of electroseparation) using three different ISs of appropriate pKa

258

from Table 1. Figure 3 shows the average pH obtained with the three ISs against the

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electrophoretic run time. As can be seen, in all the cases the pH decreases over the run time. This

260

can easily be explained by the electrolysis processes that occur in the separation vials: reactions

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involving the generation (inlet buffer) or consumption (outlet buffer) of hydrogen ions occur at

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the electrodes.30 As explained above, in the IS-CE method alterations in the conditions of

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analysis can be minimized by the use of an IS that undergoes the same alteration as the TC. This

264

means that these pH variations should not affect the pKa determination of any compound

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provided that the TC and IS remain adequately ionized.

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Therefore, at the same time as monitoring the pH inside the capillary, the pKa of two

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compounds, 2,6-dibromo-4-nitrophenol and acridine, was determined with the same frequency.

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For 2,6-dibromo-4-nitrophenol, 2-chlorobenzoic acid was used as the IS, and the experiments

269

were performed with an acetic/acetate buffer at pH 5.5 and 50 mM ionic strength. In the case of

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acridine, pyridine was used as the IS and H3PO4/H2PO4- as the separation buffer at pH 3.0 (I = 50

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mM). Figure 4 shows the pKa of the compounds (solid line) and the pH of the buffers (dashed

272

line) over the electroseparation time. It can clearly be seen that while the pH decreases during

273

voltage application, the calculated pKa remains constant all through the 16 hours of the study

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(around 500 injections). This demonstrates that the IS-CE method does not require the buffer

275

vials to be replaced frequently; whereas in other work,11,17,29 where the classic CE method is used

276

for pKa determination, pH variation is minimized by replacementof the buffer solutions

277

approximately every 1 - 2 hours of electrodriven separation.

278

Nevertheless, after several hours of separation, the pH of the buffer may become drastically

279

reduced. For example, Figure 3 shows that the pH of TRIS or CAPS decreases nearly one unit

280

after ten hours of separation. The buffering capacity is then clearly diminished and, what is more

281

important, the IS and TC selected may be in different ionization states from the initial one. In

282

order to prevent this, we recommend buffer replacement after 10 hours of use; considering a

283

mean run time of 2 minutes, this corresponds to 300 injections.

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Stability of the internal standards

286

Table 1 shows the pKa values of the 48 monoprotic acidic20 and basic21 ISs established in

287

previous works. The list comprises a reference set of compounds with well-determined acidity

288

constants that facilitates the process of selecting an appropriate IS for a given pKa determination.

289

Thus, when the pKa of a TC is to be determined, one or several appropriate ISs from the sample

290

tray are sequentially injected with the TC. However, the replacement time of the solutions must

291

be known because of possible degradation.

292

In order to evaluate the stability of the ISs, each compound was injected once per week at a pH

293

at which it was totally ionized. The peak area and the mobility of the compounds were monitored

294

over this time. Nicotinic acid, N,N-dimethyl-N-phenylamine, pyridine, and 4-tert-butylpyridine

295

showed a decrease of 10% in their area in a few days; so they must be replaced daily. In the case

296

of vanillin, aniline, quinolone, 4-tert-butylaniline, 2,4-lutidine, trazodone, pilocarpine, 2,4,6-

297

trimethylpyridine, bupivacaine, imipramine, and propranolol, weekly replacement is required.

298

Warfarin, 2,4,6-tribromophenol, acridine, papaverine, and procainamine, require only monthly

299

replacement. For the rest of ISs, the peak area was still 90% or more after a four-month period.

300 301

Precision and accuracy

302

The precision of the pKa values obtained (standard deviation, sd) can be evaluated in several

303

ways. Effective mobilities can be determined using several buffers with pH values close to the

304

pKa of the TC. For example, the pKa of mepivacaine was determined using bupicavaine as the IS

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(pKa(IS) = 8.19) at three pH values near to their pKa values. Considering the µ eff of the TC and IS

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at pH values of 7.5, 8.0 and 8.5, the following results were obtained: 7.90, 7.95 and 7.93

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respectively. So, final pKa value obtained for mepivacaine is 7.93 ± 0.03. In this case, four

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electropherograms are required to determine the acidity constant in triplicate. Alternatively, and

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much faster, the precision can be improved if more than one IS is used for any pKa

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determination. Several ISs can be sequentially injected together with the TC in the same run. For

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example, the pKa of mepivacaine was determined using three different ISs (lidocaine, clonidine

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and bupivacaine) in the same pH buffer and run, obtaining an average pKa for the three ISs of

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7.92 ± 0.02. In this way, just two runs of 1.1 and 1.6 minutes are needed to obtain the pKa value

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as determined in triplicate, since the four compounds (mepivacaine and the three ISs) are

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injected together. Figure 5 shows both electropherograms.

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To date we have used the IS-CE method to determine 129 pKa values for 93 different drugs

317

(pKa(IS-CE)). These compounds range from simple structures (with just one acidity constant) to

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more complex ones with up to four constants. In order to estimate the accuracy of the

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experimental values, we correlated them with compiled values obtained from the literature

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(pKa(lit)) at 25ºC and zero ionic strength20–22,31,32 or measured in our laboratory by other methods.

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The overall data is presented in Table 2S in the Supporting Information. Figure 6 shows pKa(IS-

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CE)

as a function of pKa(lit) and the fitted line. The equation obtained is:

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pKa(IS-CE) = (0.995 ± 0.006) pKa(lit) + (0.05 ± 0.05)

SD = 0.17

F = 24783

(9)

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The slope and intercept of the correlation are not significantly different from 1 and 0,

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respectively, for a 95% confidence level. These fitting results demonstrate the accuracy of the IS-

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CE method compared with reference literature values.

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CONCLUSION

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The proposed IS-CE method is a fast and attractive alternative to longer time-consuming

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methods for the determination of acidity constants, such as potentiometric and spectophotometric

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titrations, or the classic CZE method. Several instrumental parameters and different experimental

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conditions were studied and optimized in order to reduce the time of pKa determination. With a

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short capillary of just 25 cm to the detector, reduced capillary conditioning times, 0.4% DMSO

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marker, hydrodynamic sequential injection at 0.5 psi for 3s, and the application of 20 kV and 0.5

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psi during separation, the time required for the electropherograms can be reduced in such a way

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that any pKa can be obtained in less than 5 minutes using the proposed buffers and ISs. 129 pKa

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values from 93 drugs, ranging from simple structures to more complex ones with up to four

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constants, were determined by this IS-CE method and satisfactorily correlated with reference

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values from the literature.

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In conclusion, IS-CE is a powerful high-throughput method suitable for routine pKa determination in drug discovery and development laboratories.

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Figure 1. Effect of pressure during the separation on the migration time and resolution. Buffer:

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HCOOH/HCOO-, I=50 mM, pH=3.5; compounds: clonidine (1) and imipramine (2) at 100 ppm;

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neutral marker DMSO (N).

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357

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Figure 2. Electropherograms of a) cationic compounds (metoprolol, diphenidramine,

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propranolol, ephedrine) at pH=5.0 and 10% DMSO; b) anionic compounds (ibuprofen, nicotinic

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acid, warfarin) at pH=8.5 and 10% DMSO; c) anionic compounds (ibuprofen, nicotinic acid,

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warfarin) at pH=8.5 and 0.4% DMSO.

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Figure 3. pH of the background electrolytes as a function of electrophoretic run time.

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Figure 4. pH of the buffer solution vs. electrolysis time. Solid lines correspond to the pKa of test

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compounds. Dashed lines are the pH of the buffer calculated using the ISs. Buffers used:

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pH=3.0, H3PO4/H2PO4- ; pH=5.5, CH3COOH/CH3COO-.

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Figure 5. Electropherograms of mepivacaine (TC) and 3 internal standards (IS1 lidocaine; IS2:

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clonidine; IS3: bupivacaine). a) pH=5, limiting mobilities; b) pH=8, effective mobilities.

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Figure 6. Measured pKa (pKa(IS-CE)) vs. literature pKa (pKa(IS-CE)). Fitted line is shown as the

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solid line.

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TABLES

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Table 1. Internal standard set. Thermodynamic reference pKa values at 25ºC.20,21 IS

pKa

IS

pKa

2-Chlorobenzoic acid

2.84

4-Nitrophenol

7.09

2,6-Dibromo-4-nitrophenol

3.31

Vanillin

7.36

4-Nitrobenzoic acid

3.37

2,4,6-Trimethylpyridine

7.51

2,6-Dinitrophenol

3.69

Phenobarbital

7.53

3-Bromobenzoic acid

3.79

4-Hydroxybenzaldehyde

7.61

2,4-Dinitrophenol

4.12

Lidocaine

7.93

Benzoic acid

4.22

Clonidine

8.10

Ibuprofen

4.49

Bupivacaine

8.19

Aniline

4.63

3,5-Dichlorophenol

8.18

Nicotinic acid

4.85

Methylparaben

8.35

Quinoline

4.93

2-Chlorophenol

8.50

4-tert-butylaniline

4.93

1-Phenylpiperazine

8.75

Warfarin

5.17

N,N-dimethyl-N-benzylamine

8.95

N,N-dimethyl-N-phenylamine

5.17

3-Chlorophenol

9.04

Pyridine

5.28

Diphenydramine

9.08

2,5-Dinitrophenol

5.30

Procainamide

9.26

Sulfacetamide

5.42

4-Bromophenol

9.28

Acridine

5.55

Imipramine

9.37

2,4,6-Tribromophenol

6.04

Propranolol

9.47

4-tert-butylpyridine

6.03

1-Aminoethylbenzene

9.52

Papaverine

6.41

Paracetamol

9.58

2,4-Lutidine

6.81

Ephedrine

9.72

Trazodone

6.84

Phenol

9.89

Pilocarpine

7.08

Nortriptyline

10.08

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Table 2. Capillary conditioning optimization. Rinse type

CE conditioning (at 20 psi)

Beginning of the session

2.0 min NaOH 1.0 M 0.5 min H2O 2.0 min buffer

Replicates

No rinse

Change pH

0.2 min new buffer

End of the session

2.0 min NaOH 0.1 M 2.0 min H2O

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ASSOCIATED CONTENT

399

Supporting Information

400

Detailed experimental samples and buffer preparations, instrumental conditions, and precision

401

and accuracy. This material is available free of charge from the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.

402 403

AUTHOR INFORMATION

404

Corresponding Author

405

Prof. Martí Rosés

406

Departament de Química Analítica

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Universitat de Barcelona

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Martí i Franquès, 1-11

409

E-08028-Barcelona

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Spain

411

Tel. (+34) 93 403 92 75

412

Fax (+34) 93 402 12 33

413

e-mail: [email protected]

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

416

The authors thank the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and the Fondo Europeo de

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Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) of the European Union (Project CTQ2010-19217/BQU) for

418

financial support. Furthermore, J.M. Cabot thanks the Secretaria d'Universitats i Recerca of the

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Departament d'Economia i Coneixement of the Catalan Government for a supporting scholarship

420

(2013FI_B1 00209).

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