Separation of 11 protease and reverse transcriptase inhibitors by capillary zone electrophoresis

Capillary zone electrophoresis is employed for the simultaneous screening of protease and reverse transcriptase inhibitors which are used as antiretroviral therapy drugs against the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Because of the basic character of the analytes, the electrophoretic system makes use of an acidic buffer electrolyte. In order to establish a strong anodic electroosmotic flow, a cationic surfactant is added to the background electrolyte. This causes the cationic analytes to migrate against the electroosmotic stream (counter-electroosmotic CE). The developed separation system permits a simultaneous separation of protease and reverse transcriptase inhibitors with good selectivity and sensitivity.