Electrochromatographic enantioseparation of amino acids using polybutylmethacrylate-based chiral monolithic column by capillary electrochromatography

This article describes the development of a polybutylmethacrylate‐based monolithic capillary column as a chiral stationary phase. The chiral monolithic column was prepared by polymerization of butyl methacrylate (BMA), ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA), and N‐methacryloyl‐l ‐glutamic acid (MAGA) in the presence of porogens. The porogen mixture included N,N‐dimethyl formamide and phosphate buffer. MAGA was used as a chiral selector. The effect of MAGA content was investigated on electrochromatographic enantioseparation of d,l ‐histidine, d,l ‐tyrosine, d,l ‐phenyl alanine, and d,l ‐glutamic acid. The effect of acetonitrile (ACN) content in mobile phase on electro‐osmotic flow was also investigated. It was demonstrated that the poly(BMA‐EDMA‐MAGA) monolithic chiral column can be used for the electrochromatographic enantioseparation of amino acids by capillary electrochromatography (CEC). The mobile phase was ACN/10 mM phosphate buffer (45:55%) adjusted to pH 2.7. It was observed that l ‐enantiomers of the amino acids migrated before d ‐enantiomers. The separation mechanism of electrochromatographic enantioseparation of amino acids in CEC is discussed. Chirality 24:606–609, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Recent progress in capillary electrophoretic analysis of amino acid enantiomers

This review highlights recent progresses in capillary electrophoresis (CE) analysis of amino acid enantiomers in the last decade. Various chiral selectors including cyclodextrins (CDs), bile salts, crown ethers, cinchona alkaloids, metal-chiral amino acid complexes, macrocyclic antibiotics and proteins have been employed to separate amino acid enantiomers. In the CE analysis of amino acids, the selection of the separation mode is one of the most important issues to obtain good resolution of target enantiomers. Among several separation modes, CD-modified capillary zone electrophoresis (CD-CZE), CD electrokinetic chromatography (CDEKC), micellar EKC (MEKC), CD-modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography (CD-MEKC), capillary electrochromatography (CEC), ligand-exchange CE (LE-CE), and nonaqueous CE (NACE) have been employed to the chiral analysis of amino acids. More than 160 published research articles collected from SciFinder Scholar databases from the year 2001 described the enantioseparations of amino acids by capillary-based electrophoresis. This review provides a comprehensive table listing the CE analysis of amino acid enantiomers with categorizing by the separation modes.     

Development of an improved automated gas-chromatographic chiral analysis system: application to non-natural amino acids and natural protein hydrolysates

In the use of combinatorial chemistry as a novel strategy for drug discovery, the chirality assessment of building blocks used for library construction is particularly important in the evaluation of biological actions of generated libraries. The procedure for chiral analysis of lead compounds in screening may be of a high priority, particularly in the case of the protection of intellectual rights. Previously, an automated amino acid analysis system using enantiomer labeling was developed. The system incorporates a reactor, which allows automated esterification and acylation of amino acids, and is connected to an on-line gas chromatographic system. A capillary column coated with a chiral phase is employed for the separation of the enantiomers. This particular system is improved with a newly constructed "high-throughput auto-derivatizer" in combination with a new GC-system. The resulting data can be processed by newly constructed software. The analyses of amino acid derivatives or hydrolysates of proteins and peptides are carried out routinely within ca. 45 min, including derivatization. Using this system several non-natural amino acids were tested with respect to the stereoisomeric configuration. In addition, acid hydrolysates of food proteins and tissues obtained by autopsy were analyzed as an application to proteome research.     

Determination of binding constants of cyclodextrin inclusion complexes with amino acids and dipeptides by potentiometric titration

Cyclodextrins are well known for their ability to separate enantiomers of drugs, natural products, and other chiral substances using HPLC, GC, or CE. The resolution of the enantiomers is due to the formation of diastereomeric complexes between the cyclodextrin and the pairs of enantiomers. The aim of this study was to determine the binding constants of the complexes between alpha- and beta-cyclodextrin and the enantiomers of a series of aliphatic and aromatic amino acids, and dipeptides, using a potentiometric titration method. The results of this method are compared to other methods, and correlated to findings in cyclodextrin-modified capillary electrophoresis and possible complex structures. Potentiometric titration was found to be an appropriate tool to determine the binding constants of cyclodextrin inclusion complexes.     

Chiral amorphous metal–organic polyhedra used as the stationary phase for high-resolution gas chromatography separations

Herein, we describe a new chiral amorphous metal–organic polyhedra used as the stationary phase for high-resolution gas chromatography (GC). The chiral stationary phase was coated onto a capillary column via a dynamic coating process and investigated for a variety of compounds. The experimental results showed that the chiral stationary phase exhibits good selectivity for linear alkanes, linear alcohols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, isomers, and chiral compounds. In addition, the column has the advantages of high column efficiency and short analysis time. The present work indicated that amorphous metal–organic polyhedra have great potential for application as a new type of stationary phase for GC.     

A technique for the determination of enantiomeric amino acids in biological samples.

Racemic amino acids can be separated into their enantiomers by means of gas-liquid chromatography. The most applied technique, today, is the conversion of chiral compunds into diastereoisomers with optically active reagents and subsequent chromatography on conventional optically inactive stationary phases. In previous studies it has been realized that this technique is associated with various problems. We studied the use of optically active stationary phases for separating enantiomers directly via a diastereoisomeric association complex. The optically acitve stationary phases employed are N- and C-terminal substituted dipeptides of the type N-trifluoroacetyl-dipeptide-cyclohexyl esters and have been synthesised by the I-hydroxibenztriazole dicyclohexylcarbodiimide method. The quality of these phases with respect to separation factors, resolution factors, and thermodynamical properties have been evaluated. All synthetic phases show excellent properties; however, when attempting separation of mixtures of naturally occurring amino acids extensive overlap in the elution diagram was detected. Only one phase - N-TFA-L-chi-amino-n-butyryl-L-chi-amino butyric acid cyclohexyl ester - gave complete resolution of the naturally occurring amino acids alanine, valine, glycine, threonine, leucine, isoleucine, serine and proline on a 400 ft x 0.02 in capillary column. Less volatile amino acids such as aspartic acid, phenylalanine, methionine, glutamic acid, tyrosine, arginine, and tryptophan can be resolved at a 100 ft x 0.02 in column.     

The covalently bonded cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) on a silica monolithic capillary column for enantioseparation in capillary electrochromatography

A chiral capillary monolithic column for capillary electrochromatography (CEC) was prepared by covalent bonding of cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) (CDMPC) on the silica monolithic matrix within the confine of a 50-microm i.d. bare fused silica capillary. Several pairs of enantiomers including neutral and basic analytes were baseline resolved on the newly prepared chiral capillary monolithic column in CEC with aqueous mobile phases. Fast enantioseparation was achieved due to the favorable dynamic properties of silica monolith. The covalent bonding of CDMPC as the chiral stationary phase for CEC also enabled the use of THF in mobile phase for enantioseparation of prazquantel by overcoming the incompatibility of THF and the physically coated CDMPC on a column.     

Recent advances in methods of direct optical resolution

Very great advances have been made in the field of direct optical resolution of organic compounds by chromatographic techniques. Chiral capillary gas chromatography now permits a determination of the enantiomeric composition of a few nanograms of a compound present in a mixture of many others. Coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry the technique will additionally permit structural elucidation; of great interest in pheromone research and related areas. Analytical separations of enantiomers are now also carried out by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods based on a variety of principles. Basically, two main types are used, differing as to whether the mobile phase has to be a chiral medium or not. Two-dimensional HPLC, whereby compounds separated on a non-chiral column are progressively and automatically transferred to a chiral column for optical resolution, has been used successsfully for chiral amino acid separations. Many different chiral sorbents for preparative LC and HPLC resolutions have been prepared; some of these are now used in columns capable of producing pure enantiomers from a given racemate at a rate of the order of one gram/hour in continuous, automatic HPLC procedures. Apart from all important applications of these results of optical resolution technology, an increased knowledge of the underlying chiral recognition phenomena responsible for enantioselection has also been achieved.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic enantioseparation of unusual secondary amino acids on a D-penicillamine-based chiral ligand exchange column

The application of a chiral ligand-exchange column (CLEC) for the direct high-performance liquid chromatographic enantioseparation of unusual secondary amino acids using D-penicillamine-Cu(II) complex as chiral selector is reported. The amino acids investigated were pyrrolidine-2-carboxylic acid, piperidine-2-carboxylic acid, piperazine-2-carboxylic acid, morpholine-3-carboxylic acid, and thiomorpholine-3-carboxylic acid analogs. Chromatographic results are given as the retention, separation, and resolution factors. The chromatographic conditions were varied to achieve optimal separation. The elution sequence of the enantiomers was determined and in most cases the S isomer eluted before R.     

Development and validation of a sensitive gas chromatography–ammonia chemical ionization mass spectrometry method for the determination of tabun enantiomers in hemolysed blood and plasma of different species

The aim of this study was to develop and validate a fast, sensitive and easily applicable GC–MS assay for the chiral quantification of the highly toxic organophosphorus compound tabun (O-ethyl-N,N-dimethylphosphoramidocyanidate, GA) in hemolysed swine blood for further use in toxicokinetic and toxicodynamic studies. These requirements were fulfilled best by a GC–MS assay with positive chemical ionization with ammonia (GC–PCI-MS). Separation was carried out on a β-cyclodextrin capillary column (Supelco BetaDex^® 225) after reversed phase (C18) solid-phase extraction. The limit of detection was 1 pg/ml for each enantiomer (approximately 500 fg on column) and the limit of quantification 5 pg/ml. The GC–PCI-MS method was applied for the quantification of tabun enantiomers in spiked swine blood after hemolysis and in spiked plasma of different species including humans.     

Chiral aminophosphonate eluent for enantiomeric analysis of amino acids

An aqueous solution of the (+)-monoethyl ester of N-(l′-hydroxymethyl-)propyl-α-aminobenzylphosphonic acid has been proposed as a suitable chiral eluent for enantiomeric analysis of amino acids by ligand-exchange chromatography. Asymmetric synthesis of the chiral selector using (−)-(R)-2-aminobutan-1-ol as a starting reactant is described. The dependence of the parameters of separation of valine enantiomers on concentration of the complexing ion, pH, and temperature has been investigated. It is shown that the order in which enantiomers are eluted from a column depends on the concentration of the complexing ion and pH. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

A novel chiral inorganic mesoporous silica used as a stationary phase in GC

Chiral mesoporous silica (CMS) has attracted widespread attention because of some unique properties, such as high surface area, uniformly structured nanoscale cavities, and excellent chemical and thermal stability. In this work, we report the utilization of a CMS as the stationary phase for the separation of racemates in gas chromatography (GC). A CMS‐coated capillary column was fabricated by a dynamic coating method. Eighteen racemates belonging to different classes of organic compounds were separated on this column, including chiral alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, organic acids, halohydrocarbons, alkenes, alcohol amines, epoxides, and amino acid derivatives. In addition, linear alkanes, alcohols, and aromatic hydrocarbons have also been resolved.     

Determination of the enantiomeric purity of 5,6- and 6,7-dihydroxy-2-aminotetralins by chiral HPLC

5,6- and 6,7-Dihydroxy-2-aminotetralin (ADTN), racemic dopamine receptor agonists, were resolved into their enantiomers by a new chiral HPLC assay. The separation was performed on a Crownpack CR column, which contains an 18-crown-6-type chiral crown ether as a chiral selector. The chiral recognition is based on the compiexation of the protonated primary amino group and the oxygen atoms inside the cavity of the crown ether. The amino group is attached to the chiral centre and therefore these compounds could be resolved. Mobile phase was perchloric acid pH 2.0 and the detection was UV at 200 nm. Resolution factors were 3.1 for 5,6-ADTN and 1.1 for 6,7-ADTN resulting in very low limits of quantitation (<0.1%) of the enantiomer present as impurity. Data on the validation of the assay and on the stability of the column are also reported. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

A technique for the determination of enantiomeric amino acids in biological samples

Racemic amino acids can be separated into their enantiomers by means of gas-liquid chromatography. The most applied technique, today, is the conversion of chiral compounds into diastereoisomers with optically active reagents and subsequent chromatography on conventional optically inactive stationary phases. In previous studies it has been realized that this technique is associated with various problems. We studied the use of optically active stationary phases for separating enantiomers directly via a diastereoisomeric association complex. The optically active stationary phases employed are N- and C-terminal substituted dipeptides of the type N-trifluoroacetyl-dipeptide-cyclohexyl esters and have been synthesised by the I-hydroxibenztriazole dicyclohexylcarbodiimide method. The quality of these phases with respect to separation factors, resolution factors, and thermodynamical properties have been evaluated. All synthetic phases show excellent properties; however, when attempting separation of mixtures of naturally occurring amino acids extensive overlap in the elution diagram was detected. Only one phase — N-TFA-L-α-amino-n-butyryl-L-α-amino butyric acid cyclohexyl ester gave complete resolution of the naturally occurring amino acids alanine, valine, glycine, threonine, eucine, isoleucine, serine and proline on a 400 ft × 0.02 in capillary column. Less volatile amino acids such as aspartic acid, phenylalanine, methionine, glutamic acid, tyrosine, arginine, and tryptophan can be resolved at a 100 ft×0.02 in column.     

Structure‐retention relationship for enantioseparation of selected fluoroquinolones

Fluoroquinolones are popular class of antibiotics with distinct chemical functionality. Most of them are ampholytes with one chiral center. Stereogeneic center is located either in the side ring of Gatifloxacin (GFLX) or in the quinolone core of Ofloxacin (OFLX). These two amphoteric fluoroquinolones have terminal amino groups in common. The unusual Nadifloxacin (NFLX) is an acidic fluoroquinolone with a core chiral center. Owing to chirality and functionality differences among GFLX, OFLX, and NFLX, we mapped these enantiomers onto structure‐retention relationship. Amount of acetic acid modifier was studied in screened mobile phase and cellulose tris(3‐chloro‐4‐methyl phenyl carbamate) (Lux cellulose‐2) stationary phase. Experimental design of acetic acid% along with column temperature have been applied. Resolution and enantioselectivity have been related to structural features of the studied enantiomers. High amount of acid (0.4%) was optimum for the separation of either side chirality with a proximate amino group (GFLX) or core chirality without basic functionality (NFLX), while low amount (0.2%) is optimum for core chiral center with distal amino group (OFLX). Temperature has no significant effect on resolution and retention of enantiomers except for OFLX. Enantio‐retention explains possible chiral selective and nonselective interactions. The proposed methods have been validated for pharmaceutical analyses.     

Protein domain of chicken alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein is responsible for chiral recognition

Ovoglycoprotein from chicken egg whites (OGCHI) has been used as a chiral selector to separate drug enantiomers. However, neither the amino acid sequence of OGCHI nor the responsible part for the chiral recognition (protein domain or sugar moiety) has yet to be determined. First, we isolated a cDNA clone encoding OGCHI, and clarified the amino acid sequence of OGCHI, which consists of 203 amino acids including a predictable signal peptide of 20 amino acids. The mature OGCHI shows 31-32% identities to rabbit and human alpha(1)-acid glycoproteins (alpha(1)-AGPs). Thus, OGCHI should be the chicken alpha(1)-AGP. Second, the recombinant chicken alpha(1)-AGP was prepared by the Escherichia coli expression system, and its chiral recognition ability was confirmed by capillary electrophoresis. Since proteins expressed in E. coli are not modified by any sugar moieties, this result shows that the protein domain of the chicken alpha(1)-AGP is responsible for the chiral recognition.     

Enantioseparation of mandelic acid on vancomycin column: Experimental and docking study

So far, no detailed view has been expressed regarding the interactions between vancomycin and racemic compounds including mandelic acid. In the current study, a chiral stationary phase was prepared by using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane and succinic anhydride to graft carboxylated silica microspheres and subsequently by activating the carboxylic acid group for vancomycin immobilization. Characterization by elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, and thermogravimetric analysis demonstrated effective functionalization of the silica surface. R and S enantiomers of mandelic acid were separated by the synthetic vancomycin column. Finally, the interaction between vancomycin and R/S mandelic acid enantiomers was simulated by Auto-dock Vina. The binding energies of interactions between R and S enantiomers and vancomycin chiral stationary phase were different. In the most probable interaction, the difference in mandelic acid binding energy was approximately 0.2 kcal/mol. In addition, circular dichroism spectra of vancomycin interacting with R and S enantiomers showed different patterns. Therefore, R and S mandelic acid enantiomers may occupy various binding pockets and interact with different vancomycin functions. These observations emphasized the different retention of R and S mandelic acid enantiomers in vancomycin chiral column.     

Enantioseparation by ligand-exchange using particle-loaded monoliths: capillary-LC versus capillary electrochromatography

Particle-loaded monoliths containing a polymethacrylamide backbone were prepared by suspending a silica-based chiral phase in the mixture of the monomers followed by in-situ polymerization in the capillary. As chiral selector l-4-hydroxyproline chemically bonded to 3 microm silica particles was used following the separation principle of ligand-exchange. Electrolytes containing Cu(II) ions were used. Amino acid enantiomers were separated by capillary-LC and CEC, whereby the latter showed the better resolution properties. For the chiral separation of alpha-hydroxy acids the EOF was reversed by copolymerizing diallyldimethylammonium chloride instead of vinylsulfonic acid as charge providing agent. Short columns of 6 cm were found to be sufficient in the case of CEC for baseline separations of amino acids with alpha values up to 5.     

A sensitive gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric method for the resolution and quantification of ethosuximide enantiomers in biological fluids

A modified specific, sensitive and reproducible chiral gas chromatographic (GC) method for the resolution and quantification of ethosuximide enantiomers in urine and plasma was developed. The samples were extracted by liquid-liquid extraction, using diethylether and the enantiomers were separated and quantified on a chiral gas chromatographic column (25QC2 / CYDEX- beta 0.25). The method involved the use of GC/MS instrumentation for the acquisition of data in the electron impact selective-ion monitoring mode, collecting ions characteristic of both ethosuximide and alpha, alpha - dimethyl - beta - methylsuccinimide, the internal standard and of mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) exactly equal to 55 and 70 units. The limit of quantitation of the method was 2.5 microg/ml for both urine and plasma with both enantiomers. The method proved to be linear, precise and reproducible in the 5-300 microg/ml concentration range for urine samples and in the 10-250 microg/ml concentration range for plasma samples. Future research work envisaged the application of this method in pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies.     

Separation of enantiomers by open capillary electrochromatography on polysiloxane-bonded permethyl-beta-cyclodextrin

The separation of enantiomers by open capillary electrochromatography (o-CEC) using Chirasil-Dex as chiral stationary phase (CSP) is reviewed. In Chirasil-Dex, permethylated beta-cyclodextrin is linked via a single octamethylene spacer to polydimethylsiloxane. The CSP is coated and thermally immobilized onto the internal surface of a fused-silica column (i.d. 50 microm). Employing a single open-tubular column coated with Chirasil-Dex, a unified enantioselective approach can be realized using the four common chromatographic techniques: o-GC, o-SFC, o-LC and o-CEC. The chiral stationary phase Chirasil-Dex can be combined with a charged cyclodextrin derivative, which is added into the mobile phase. In the resulting dual chiral recognition system, enhancement of enantioselectivity (matched case) or compensation of enantioselectivity (mismatched case) are observed. The overall enantioselectivity is dependent on the sense of enantioselectivity of the selectors chosen and their influence on the electrophoretic and electroosmotic migration of the enantiomers of a selectand. The feasibility to couple chiral o-CEC and ESI/MS is demonstrated for trace analysis of enantiomeric drugs in body fluids.