Surfactant coated fullerenes C60 as pseudostationary phase in electrokinetic chromatography

In the present paper, surfactant coated fullerenes C60 (SC-C60) have been proposed as a novedous pseudostationary phase to improve separation of different aromatic compounds. The target analytes were β-lactams antibiotics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and amphenicols. In all cases, the analytes interacted with the pseudostationary phase producing an important enhancement on resolution. The results were compared with those obtained with surfactant coated carbon nanotubes (single-walled and multi-walled nanotubes), showing that in the proposed conditions, fullerenes C60 were advantageous as interactions between the analytes and the pseudostationary phase were more effective. Finally, the procedure was applied to pharmaceuticals and urine samples, with satisfactory results.