Capillary electrophoresis is a very useful analytical method for separating
charged species. In my thesis I tested the applicability of this method for the determination
of phenolic acids in aerosol particles. By optimizing the methods I succeeded in
separating 5 phenolic acids: 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 4-
hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid and para-cumaric acid. The repetability of the
migration times was good, whereas the repetability of peaks surface was not so good.
From the generated calibration lines with satisfactory linearity I obtained the values of
the detection limit and the limits of determination with the linear regression method,
which were higher than expected. The sample was prepared by dissolving aerosol
particles from samplers in water and concentrating by hollow fiber microextraction. The
concentrations of phenolic acids from the sample were below the detection limit of the
developed method. It would also be necessary to optimize the sample extraction method
and use a more sensitive detection.
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