Optimisation by experimental design of a capillary electrophoretic method for the separation of several inhibitors of angiotensin-converting enzyme using alkylsulphonates

A statistical experimental design was used to optimise a capillary electrophoretic separation method for eight inhibitors of the angiotensin-converting enzyme: enalapril, lisinopril, quinapril, fosinopril, perindopril, ramipril, benazepril, and cilazapril. Because a free solution capillary electrophoresis system did not achieve a complete separation of these eight compounds in one run, the usefulness of alkylsulphonates as ion-pairing agents was investigated. After preliminary investigations to determine the experimental domain and the most important factors, a three-level full-factorial design was applied to study the impact of the pH and the molarity of the ion-pairing agent on the separation. Improved separations were obtained suggesting a favourable effect of ion-pairing interactions between analytes and the additive; however, it remained impossible to separate them all in one run. A combination of two systems was still necessary for the selective identification of these structurally-related substances.