Separation and determination of some common metal ions was achieved with methyl 3-amino-3-(pyridin-3-yl)propanoate dihydrochloride (MAPP) as an ion-pairing reagent and pyridine as a detectable counter-ion for indirect UV detection at 254 nm. The effects of the complexing reagent and chromophore concentrations, applied voltage, and organic solvent content on the separation were investigated. The optimized separation was carried out in a running electrolyte containing 16 mM MAPP and 20 mM pyridine at pH 4.0 and was successfully applied to the qualitative and quantitative analysis of Li+, Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Ba2+, Ni2+, and Zn2+ in pharmaceutical vitamin preparations and various water samples.