title: Concurrent determination of anions and cations in consumer fireworks with a portable dual-capillary electrophoresis system.
abstract: A new automated portable dual-channel capillary electrophoresis instrument was built and applied to the concurrent determination of cations and anions. The system uses a single buffer and hydrodynamic injection of the sample is performed autonomously. A novel engraved flow-cell interface is used at the injection ends of the capillaries allowing the autonomous operation of the system. The engraved flow-cell replaces traditionally used split injectors in purpose made capillary electrophoresis systems and makes the system design easier. A new software package with graphical user interface was employed to control the system, making its operation simple and increasing its versatility. The electrophoretic method was optimized to allow the baseline separation of 12 cations and anions commonly found in fireworks. The system was proven to be useful for the analysis of consumer fireworks, saving time and expenses compared to separate analyses for anions and cations. This is the first time that cationic and anionic compositions of fireworks are investigated together. The analysis of samples revealed several inaccuracies between the declared compositions for the fireworks and the obtained results, which could be attributed to cross-contamination during their manufacture or to a transfer between other components of the pyrotechnic item. The presence of certain unexpected peaks, however, had no apparent reason and might represent an irregularity in the manufacture of some devices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona Km 33.6, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain; University Institute of Research in Police Sciences (IUICP), University of Alcalá, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona Km 33.6, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sáiz
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental Technology and Sustainable Development (CETASD), Hanoi University of Science, Nguyen Trai Street 334, Hanoi, Viet Nam.
authors.forename: Mai Thanh
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Duc
authors.affiliation: University of Basel, Department of Chemistry, Spitalstrasse 51, 4056 Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Israel Joel
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Koenka
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona Km 33.6, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain; University Institute of Research in Police Sciences (IUICP), University of Alcalá, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona Km 33.6, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martín-Alberca
authors.affiliation: University of Basel, Department of Chemistry, Spitalstrasse 51, 4056 Basel, Switzerland. Electronic address: Peter.Hauser@unibas.ch.
authors.forename: Peter C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Hauser
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona Km 33.6, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain; University Institute of Research in Police Sciences (IUICP), University of Alcalá, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona Km 33.6, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: carmen.gruiz@uah.es.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: García-Ruiz
keywords: Anions; Cations; Concurrent determination; Dual-CE; Fireworks; Portable CE