A thin-layer contactless conductivity cell for detection in flowing liquids

The design is described of a thin-layer contactless conductivity detector suitable for liquid chromatography and flow-injection analysis. Its principal analytical parameters have been determined using a potassium chloride solution: the linear dynamic range extends from 7.5 x 10(-6) to 1.5 x 10(-2) S m(-1), corresponding to the KCl concentration range from 0.5 to 1000 mu M, the limit of detection equals 3.5 x 10(-6) S m(-1) (0.2 mu M KCl), the detection repeatability, expressed in terms of the relative standard deviation, amounts to 1.13% and the detection volume is 0.6 mu L. The detector was applied to detection of ionic compounds, benzoic, lactic and octanesulfonic acids, and sodium capronate, after their separation by liquid chromatography in a Biospher PSI 100C 18 columns using a 60% aqueous acetonitrile mobile phase. The frequency characteristics of the detector are reasonably theoretically described on the basis of a simple model which is commonly used in the field of contactless impedance detectors. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.