Indirect conductimetric detection of cyclodextrins in liquid chromatography

Indirect conductimetric detection of cyclodextrins (CDs) was investigated in liquid chromatography (LC). The mobile phase contained an electrolytic substance which maintained high background, and CDs were indirectly detected owing to a depression of the background signal due to dilution of the mobile phase by the analyte molecules. The dynamic reserve, defined as the ratio of the background to its noise level, was (1–2) × 105, and the detection limits at S/N = 3 were 23–40 ng for CDs when a microcolumn LC system was employed.