The free solution mobilities of the adenosine nucleotides 5'-adenosine triphosphate (ATP), 5'-adenosine diphosphate (ADP), 5'-adenosine monophosphate (AMP), and 3'-5'-cyclic AMP (cAMP) have been measured in diethylmalonate buffers containing a wide variety of monovalent cations. The mobilities of all nucleotides increase gradually with the increase in intrinsic conductivity of the cation in the BGE. However, at a given conductivity, the mobilities observed for ATP, ADP, and AMP in BGEs containing alkali metal ions and other cations are lower than these observed in BGEs containing tetraalkylammonium. ions. Since the mobility of cAMP is independent of the cation in the BGE, the results suggest that the relatively low mobilities observed for ATP, ADP, and AMP in BGEs containing cations other than a tetraalkylammonium ion are due to cation binding, reducing the effective net charge of the nucleotide and thereby reducing the observed mobility. To measure the binding quantitatively, the mobilities of the nucleotides were measured as a function of ionic strength. The mobilities of ATP, ADP, and AMP decrease nonlinearly with the square root of ionic strength (I-1/2) in BGEs containing an alkali metal ion or Tris(+). By contrast, the mobilities decrease linearly with I-1/2 in BGEs containing a nonbinding quaternary ammonium ion, as expected from Debye-Huckel-Onsager (DHO) theory. The mobility of cAMP, a nonbinding analyte, decreases linearly with I-1/2, regardless of the cation in the BGE. Hence, a nonlinear decrease of the mobility of an analyte with I-1/2 appears to be a hallmark of counterion binding. The curved mobility profiles observed for ATP, ADP, and AMP in BGEs containing an alkali metal ion or Tris(+) were analyzed by nonlinear curve fitting, using difference mobility profiles to correct for the effect of the physical properties of BGE on the observed mobilities. The calculated apparent dissociation constants range from 22 to 344 mM, depending on the particular cation-nucleotide pair. Similar values have been obtained by other investigators, using different methods. Interestingly, Tris(+) and Li+ bind to the adenosine nucleotides with approximately equal affinities, suggesting that positively charged Tris' buffer ions can compete with alkali metal ions in Tris-buffered solutions.