A study on the alkaline hydrolysis of isatin-β-thiosemicarbazone by capillary electrophoresis with enhanced sample loadability

An analytical potential of capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) with enhanced sample loadability (a 200 nL injection volume) in determination of alkaline hydrolysis products of isatin-β-thiosemicarbazone (IBT), a compound with important biological activity, has been studied. The CZE separation conditions for a complete resolution of transformation products, i.e. 2-aminophenylglyoxalate, 2-(2-aminophenyl)-2-semicarbazonoethane, anthranilate and E-Z geometric isomers of 2-(2-aminophenyl)-2-thiosemicarbazonoethane, have been optimized. CZE separations with UV detection at 240 nm were performed using glycine running buffer at high pH (9.2) and containing an uncharged β-cyclodextrin as a complexing agent. High sensitivity (with detection limits ranging from 0.1 to 1.2 μM), good repeatability (RSD of migration times less than 0.4% and 0.4–3.4% RSD of peak areas) and linearity over two orders of magnitude were achieved for the compounds studied. The employed CZE method, characterized by simple sample handling (only dilution step needed) and total analysis time of less than 15 min, has been applied successfully to time monitoring of the transformation of IBT in alkaline media. Under optimized CZE conditions, the effect of pH of reaction media, implemented by different concentration of NaOH (0.1–100 mM), on the course of the alkaline hydrolysis of IBT was studied in this respect, as well.

► Study on alkaline hydrolysis of isatin-β-thiosemicarbazone by CZE with enhanced sample loadability.
► Sub-μM concentration detectabilities for the compounds reached in wide-bore CZE capillary.
► Confirmation of the reaction path of the hydrolysis by determination of intermediates.
► The effect of pH on the course of the alkaline hydrolysis studied.
► Very useful approach for real-time monitoring of different chemical processes.