1. What is CElixir-plus™?



2. What is the running pH of CElixir-plus™?



3. What is the UV wavelength that I should use for CElixir-plus™?



4. What is the buffer concentration of CElixir-plus™?



5. I am using CElixir-pH™ and I want to use CElixir-plus™ on the same capillary. Can I do this?



6. Why do you use Crown-ether in the separating buffer?



7. What is the purpose of the CElixir-plus™ Conditioning Solution?



8. I have used another suppliers cations kit for CE and could not get reproducibility. Is CElixir-plus™ reproducible and why?



9. Will the results be improved if I use a coated capillary?



10. When I am running CElixir-plus™, should I use a post injection water plug?



11. Indirect detection will produce “negative peaks”. Is it possible to view and print these as “normal peaks”?



12. How many test runs can I typically expect from one CElixir-plus™ kit?



13. Will CElixir-plus™ separate Strontium from Sodium from Lithium?



14. I am having problems with linearity at a concentration level of 50ppm for some cations. Do you have any suggestions?



15. I am using CElixir-plus according to the manual and all my cations are separating very nicely except two. Is there anything I can do to enhance the separation?

1. What is CElixir-plus™? [top]
CElixir-plus™ is a kit of pre-made buffers that are used to separate positively charged molecules and aliphatic amines. The kit uses a dynamic coating in order to stabilize the EOF. There are no need for any additives or mixing, these kits are complete with everything you need to analyze non UV Absorbing compounds that are positively charged.

2. What is the running pH range of CElixir-plus™? [top]
The coating solutions supplied with CElixir-plus™ are at pH 4.2. The supplied separating buffer is 20mM malic acid pH 4.3. The Conditioner solution is LiOH, 0.1mol/L.

3. What is the UV wavelength that I should use for CElixir-plus™? [top]
The chromophore in the buffer is maximized at 200nm.

4. What is the buffer concentration of CElixir-plus™? [top]
CElixir-plus™ Initiator and Accelerator are buffered in 4-aminopyridine, the separation buffer is 20mM Malic Acid, 4-aminopyridine, 19-crown ether.

5. I am using CElixir-pH™ and I want to use CElixir-plus™ on the same capillary. Can I do this? [top]
Yes, but it is recommended to use a separate capillary for optimal performance, however you could use following conditioning of the capillary.

1. Rinse the capillary for 1 minute with 0.1N NaOH.
2. Wait for 5-10 minutes with NaOH in the capillary.
3. Rinse again with 0.1N NaOH.
4. Discard the first 2-3 runs with the new method.

6. Why do you use crown-ether in the separating buffer? [top]
The crown-ether is added to enhance the separations since it is a complexing agent.

7. What is the purpose of the CElixir-plus™ conditioning solution? [top]
The CElixir-plus™ conditioning solution, contains LiOH and is used between separations to clean the capillary which facilitates the dynamic coating process and helps to eliminate carry over of Sodium. If Lithium is an analyte, you should use NaOH solution instead.

8. I have used another suppliers cations kit for CE and could not get reproducibility. Is CElixir-plus™ reproducible and why? [top]
CElixir-plus™ is very different from all other kits for ion analysis on the market in that it incorporates our patented dynamic coating system. Not only is the EOF stabilized, but the capillary is well conditioned and results are more reproducible.
Using a standard test mixture, RSD (%) of 0.05 for Ammonia and Sodium, 0.04 for Potassium and 0.06 for Magnesium and Calcium were achieved for 10 samples.

9. Will the results be improved if I use a coated capillary? [top]
No, CElixir-plus™ is designed to produce maximum results with a good quality, CE grade bare fused silica capillary.

10. When I am running CElixir-plus™, should I use a post injection water plug? [top]
Yes, not only will the stacking help the run but the post injection water plug always helps injection reproducibility.

11. Indirect detection will produce “negative peaks”. Is it possible to view and print these as “normal peaks”? [top]
Yes, using the software of most modern CE instruments, find the setting for “Indirect Detection” and the peaks appear as if they were absorbing UV in normal mode.

12. How many test runs can I typically expect from one CElixir-plus™ kit? [top]
The CElixir-plus™ kit for cations and aliphatic amines is designed to produce approximately 200 test runs but this could vary depending on parameters such as length of capillary, run time, etc. Also, operator error could diminish the number of test runs.

13. Will CElixir-plus™ separate Strontium from Sodium from Lithium? [top]
Yes, Our lab has been successful separating Strontium, Sodium and Lithium under standard conditions. However, Strontium co-migrates with Magnesium under these conditions.

14. I am having problems with linearity at a concentration level of 50ppm for some cations. Do you have any suggestions? [top]
Because the method used by CElixir-plus™ utilizes indirect detection, the dynamic range is shorter than it would be with direct detection. I suggest that you look at different concentrations such as between 25ppm and 50ppm to find the higher standard to fit into a straight line of 0, 5, 25ppm (30, 35 40ppm for example). If 50ppm is mandatory then dilute standard and the sample alike 1/2 to fit in the linearity (same dilution of standard and sample to avoid a dilution calculation).

15. I am use CElixir-plus according to the manual and all my cations are separating very nicely except two. Is there anything I can do to enhance the separation? [top]
Yes, you can try any combination of the following: lengthen the capillary, use lower voltage (i.e. 25kV or 20kV) or lower the temperature from 25°C to 20°C or 15°C.