Enantiomeric Separation of Bicyclo[2.2.2]octane‐Based 2‐Amino‐3‐Carboxylic Acids on Macrocyclic Glycopeptide Chiral Stationary Phases

Direct high‐performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) separation of four bicyclo[2.2.2]octane based 2‐amino‐3‐carboxylic acid enantiomers were developed on chiral stationary phases (CSPs) containing different macrocyclic glycopeptide antibiotic selectors. The analyses were performed under reversed‐phase, polar organic and polar ionic mode on macrocyclic‐glycopeptide‐based Chirobiotic T, T2, TAG, and R columns. The effects of the mobile phase composition including the acid and base modifier, the structure of the analytes, and the temperature on the separations were investigated. Experiments were achieved at constant mobile phase compositions on different stationary phases in the temperature range 5–40°C. Thermodynamic parameters were calculated from plots of ln k or ln α versus 1/T. It was recognized that the enantioseparations in reversed‐phase and polar organic mode were enthalpically driven, but under polar‐ionic conditions entropically driven enantioseparation was observed as well. Baseline separation and determination of elution sequence were achieved in all cases. Chirality 26:200–208, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Unusual Temperature‐Induced Retention Behavior of Constrained β‐Amino Acid Enantiomers on the Zwitterionic Chiral Stationary Phases ZWIX(+) and ZWIX(–)

The effects of temperature on the chiral recognition of cyclic β‐amino acid enantiomers on zwitterionic [Chiralpak ZWIX(+) and ZWIX(–)] chiral stationary phases were investigated. Experiments were performed at different mobile phase compositions and under 10°C column temperature increments in the temperature range 10–50°C. Apparent thermodynamic parameters and T_iso values were calculated from plots of ln k and ln α versus 1/T, respectively. Unusual temperature behavior was observed, especially on the ZWIX(–) column, where the application of MeOH/MeCN (50/50 v/v) containing 25 mM triethylamine and 50 mM formic acid as mobile phase led to nonlinear van't Hoff plots and increasing retention time with increasing temperature. On both columns, both enthalpically and entropically driven separations were observed. Chirality 26:385–393, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Mechanisms of retention of pyrrolidinyl norephedrine on immobilized alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein

The HPLC separation of the R,S and S,R enantiomers of pyrrolidinyl norephedrine on immobilized alpha-1 glycoprotein (AGP) was investigated. Conditions for the separation were varied using a premixed mobile phase containing an ammonium phosphate buffer and an organic modifier. The influence of mobile phase pH, ionic strength, organic modifier composition, modifier type, and temperature on the chiral selectivity and retention were investigated. The presented data demonstrate that independent phenomena govern the enantioselectivity and retention. Retention is a function of both ion exchange equilibria and hydrophobic adsorption. Thermodynamic data derived from van't Hoff plots illustrates that while enantioselectivity is also enthalpically driven, the magnitude of the enthalpy term is governed by pH. Enantioselectivity has little dependence on ionic strength. Hydrophobic interactions appear to foster hydrogen bonding interactions; the two appear to be mutually responsible for chiral selectivity. The chiral selectivity decreases as the pH is decreased and increases with mobile phase buffer strength.     

High‐Performance Liquid Chromatographic Enantioseparation of Cyclic β‐Amino Acids on Zwitterionic Chiral Stationary Phases Based on Cinchona Alkaloids

Stereoselective high‐performance liquid chromatographic separations of eight sterically constrained cyclic β‐amino acid enantiomer pairs were carried out using the newly developed Cinchona alkaloid‐based zwitterionic chiral stationary phases Chiralpak ZWIX(+) and ZWIX(?). The effects of the mobile phase composition, the nature and concentrations of the acid and base additives, the counterions and temperature on the separations were investigated. The changes in standard enthalpy, Δ(ΔH°), entropy, Δ(ΔS°), and free energy, Δ(ΔG°), were calculated from the linear van't Hoff plots derived from the ln α vs. 1/T curves in the studied temperature range (10–50°C). The values of the thermodynamic parameters depended on the nature of the selectors and the structures of the analytes. Unusual temperature behavior was observed on the ZWIX(?) column: decreased retention times were accompanied by increased separation factors with increasing temperature. On the ZWIX(+) column only enthalpically, whereas on the ZWIX(?) column both enthalpically and entropically driven separations were observed. The elution sequence was determined in all cases and was observed to be the opposite on ZWIX(+) and on ZWIX(?). Chirality 27:563–570, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Studies on Pidotimod Enantiomers With Chiralpak‐IA: Crystal Structure,Thermodynamic Parameters and Molecular Docking

Pidotimod, a synthetic dipeptide, has two chiral centers with biological and immunological activity. Its enantiomers were characterized by x‐ray crystallographic analysis. A chiral stationary phase (CSP) Chiralpak‐IA based on amylose derivatized with tris‐(3, 5‐dimethylphenyl carbamate) was used to separate pidotimod enantiomers. The mobile phase was prepared in a ratio of 35:65:0.2 of methyl‐tert‐butyl‐ether and acetonitrile trifluoroaceticacid. In addition, thermodynamics and molecular docking methods were used to explain the enantioseparation mechanism by Chiralpak‐IA. Thermodynamic studies were carried out from 10 to 45 °C. In general, both retention and enantioselectivity decreased as the temperature increased. Thermodynamic parameters indicate that the interaction force between the pidotimod enantiomer (4S, 2'R) and IA CSP is stronger and their complex model is more stable. According to GOLD molecular docking simulation, Van der Waals force is the leading cause of pidotimod enantiomers separation by IA CSP. Chirality 27:802–808, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Enantioseparation of Racemic Flurbiprofen by Aqueous Two‐Phase Extraction With Binary Chiral Selectors of L‐dioctyl Tartrate and L‐tryptophan

A novel method for chiral separation of flurbiprofen enantiomers was developed using aqueous two‐phase extraction (ATPE) coupled with biphasic recognition chiral extraction (BRCE). An aqueous two‐phase system (ATPS) was used as an extracting solvent which was composed of ethanol (35.0% w/w) and ammonium sulfate (18.0% w/w). The chiral selectors in ATPS for BRCE consideration were L‐dioctyl tartrate and L‐tryptophan, which were screened from amino acids, β‐cyclodextrin derivatives, and L‐tartrate esters. Factors such as the amounts of L‐dioctyl tartrate and L‐tryptophan, pH, flurbiprofen concentration, and the operation temperature were investigated in terms of chiral separation of flurbiprofen enantiomers. The optimum conditions were as follows: L‐dioctyl tartrate, 80 mg; L‐tryptophan, 40 mg; pH, 4.0; flurbiprofen concentration, 0.10 mmol/L; and temperature, 25 °C. The maximum separation factor α for flurbiprofen enantiomers could reach 2.34. The mechanism of chiral separation of flurbiprofen enantiomers is discussed and studied. The results showed that synergistic extraction has been established by L‐dioctyl tartrate and L‐tryptophan, which enantioselectively recognized R‐ and S‐enantiomers in top and bottom phases, respectively. Compared to conventional liquid–liquid extraction, ATPE coupled with BRCE possessed higher separation efficiency and enantioselectivity without the use of any other organic solvents. The proposed method is a potential and powerful alternative to conventional extraction for separation of various enantiomers. Chirality 27:650–657, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Strategy Approach for Direct Enantioseparation of Hyoscyamine Sulfate and Zopiclone on a Chiral αl‐Acid Glycoprotein Column and Determination of Their Eutomers: Thermodynamic Study of Complexation

Rapid and simple isocratic high‐performance liquid chromatographic methods with UV detection were developed and validated for the direct resolution of racemic mixtures of hyoscyamine sulfate and zopiclone. The method involved the use of α_l‐acid glycoprotein (AGP) as chiral stationary phase. The stereochemical separation factor (?) and the stereochemical resolution factor (R_s) obtained were 1.29 and 1.60 for hyoscyamine sulfate and 1.47 and 2.45 for zopiclone, respectively. The method was used for determination of chiral switching (eutomer) isomers: S‐hyoscyamine sulfate and eszopiclone. Several mobile phase parameters were investigated for controlling enantioselective retention and resolution on the chiral AGP column. The influence of mobile phase, concentration and type of uncharged organic modifier, ionic strength, and column temperature on enantioselectivity were studied. Calibration curves were linear in the ranges of 1–10 µg mL^‐1 and 0.5–5 µg mL^‐1 for S‐hyoscyamine sulfate and eszopiclone, respectively. The method is specific and sensitive, with lower limits of detection and quantifications of 0.156, 0.515 and 0.106, 0.349 for S‐hyoscyamine sulfate and eszopiclone, respectively. The method was used to identify quantitatively the enantiomers profile of the racemic mixtures of the studied drugs in their pharmaceutical preparations. Thermodynamic studies were performed to calculate the enthalpic ΔH and entropic ΔS terms. The results showed that enantiomer separation of the studied drugs were an enthalpic process. Chirality 28:49–57, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Influence of ligand binding on structure and thermostability of human α1‐acid glycoprotein

Ligand binding of neutral progesterone, basic propranolol, and acidic warfarin to human α₁‐acid glycoprotein (AGP) was investigated by Raman spectroscopy. The binding itself is characterized by a uniform conformational shift in which a tryptophan residue is involved. Slight differences corresponding to different contacts of the individual ligands inside the β‐barrel are described. Results are compared with in silico ligand docking into the available crystal structure of deglycosylated AGP using quantum/molecular mechanics. Calculated binding energies are ?18.2, ?14.5, and ?11.5 kcal/mol for warfarin, propranolol, and progesterone, respectively. These calculations are consistent with Raman difference spectroscopy; nevertheless, minor discrepancies in the precise positions of the ligands point to structural differences between deglycosylated and native AGP. Thermal dynamics of AGP with/without bounded warfarin was followed by Raman spectroscopy in a temperature range of 10–95 °C and analyzed by principal component analysis. With increasing temperature, a slight decrease of α‐helical content is observed that coincides with an increase in β‐sheet content. Above 45 °C, also β‐strands tend to unfold, and the observed decrease in β‐sheet coincides with an increase of β‐turns accompanied by a conformational shift of the nearby disulfide bridge from high‐energy trans‐gauche‐trans to more relaxed gauche‐gauche‐trans. This major rearrangement in the vicinity of the bridge is not only characterized by unfolding of the β‐sheet but also by subsequent ligand release. Hereby, ligand binding alters the protein dynamics, and the more rigid protein–ligand complex shows an improved thermal stability, a finding that contributes to the reported chaperone‐like function of AGP. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enantiomeric separation of type I and type II pyrethroid insecticides with different chiral stationary phases by reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography

The enantiomeric separation of type I (bifenthrin, BF) and type II (lambda‐cyhalothrin, LCT) pyrethroid insecticides on Lux Cellulose‐1, Lux Cellulose‐3, and Chiralpak IC chiral columns was investigated by reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography. Methanol/water or acetonitrile/water was used as mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min. The effects of chiral stationary phase, mobile phase composition, column temperature, and thermodynamic parameters on enantiomer separation were carefully studied. Bifenthrin got a partial separation on Lux Cellulose‐1 column and baseline separation on Lux Cellulose‐3 column, while LCT enantiomers could be completely separated on both Lux Cellulose‐1 and Lux Cellulose‐3 columns. Chiralpak IC provided no separation ability for both BF and LCT. Retention factor (k) and selectivity factor (α) decreased with the column temperature increasing from 10°C to 40°C for both BF and LCT enantiomers. Thermodynamic parameters including ?H and ?S were also calculated, and the maximum R_s were not always obtained at lowest temperature. Furthermore, the quantitative analysis methods for BF and LCT enantiomers in soil and water were also established. Such results provide a new approach for pyrethroid separation under reversed‐phase condition and contribute to environmental risk assessment of pyrethroids at enantiomer level.     

Dynamic Behavior of Clobazam on High‐Performance Liquid Chromatography Chiral Stationary Phases

Clobazam, a 1,5‐benzodiazepin‐2,4‐dione, is a chiral molecule because its ground state conformation features a nonplanar seven‐membered ring lacking reflection symmetry elements. The two conformational enantiomers of clobazam interconvert at room temperature by a simple ring‐flipping process. Variable temperature HPLC on the Pirkle type (R)‐N‐(3,5‐dinitronenzoyl)phenylglycine and (R,R)‐Whelk‐O1 chiral stationary phases (CSPs) allowed us to separate for the first time the conformational enantiomers of clobazam and to observe peak coalescence‐decoalescence phenomena due to concomitant separation and interconversion processes occurring on the same time scale. Clobazam showed temperature dependent dynamic high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) profiles with interconversion plateaus on the two CSPs indicative of on‐column enantiomer interconversion. (enantiomerization) in the column temperature range between T_col = 10°C and T_col = 30°C, whereas on‐column interconversion was absent at temperature close to or lower than T_col = 5°C. Computer simulation of exchange‐deformed HPLC profiles using a program based on the stochastic model yielded the apparent rate constants for the on‐column enantiomerization and the corresponding free energy activation barriers. At T_col = 20°C the averaged enantiomerization barriers, ΔG^?, for clobazam were found in the range 21.08–21.53 kcal mol^?1 on the two CSPs. The experimental dynamic chromatograms and the corresponding interconversion barriers reported in this article are consistent with the literature data measured by DNMR at higher temperatures and in different solvents. Chirality 28:17–21, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Enantiomeric separation of β‐blockers and tryptophan using heparin as stationary and pseudostationary phases in capillary electrophoresis

The separation methods of the enantiomers of two β‐blockers and tryptophan were studied using capillary electrochromatography with heparin covalently as well as non‐covalently, bonded onto the capillary inner wall as stationary phase and electrokinetic chromatography with heparin as pseudostationary phase. In the case of heparin, used as a stationary phase, the method was unable to resolve enantiomers in both cases β‐blockers and tryptophan. On the other hand, when heparin was used as a pseudostationary phase, the resolution of the enantiomers was obtained only with 3‐aminopropyltriethoxysilane which were immobilised onto the inner phase of the capillary. The results of this study let us infer that the electrostatic, hydrophobic, and steric interactions were involved in the separation mechanisms. The separation was achieved in less than 10 minutes under the optimized conditions: 30 mM phosphate buffer (pH 2.5) with the adding of 15 mg/mL of heparin at 15°C and 10 kV. The usefulness of heparin as a chiral selector both in electrokinetic chromatography using 3‐aminopropyltriethoxysilane attached to the capillary was demonstrated for the first time. The developed method was powerful, sensitive, and fast, and it could be considered an important alternative to conventional methods used for chiral separation.     

Enantioselective liquid‐liquid extraction of 3‐chloro‐phenylglycine enantiomers using (S,S)‐DIOP as extractant

(S,S)‐DIOP, a common catalyst used in asymmetric reaction, was adopted as chiral extractant to separate 3‐chloro‐phenylglycine enantiomers in liquid‐liquid extraction. The factors affecting extraction efficiency were studied, including metal precursors, organic solvents, extraction temperature, chiral extractant concentration, and pH of aqueous phase. (S,S)‐DIOP‐Pd exhibited good ability to recognize 3‐chloro‐phenylglycine enantiomers, and the operational enantioselectivity (α) is 1.836. The highest performance factor (pf) was obtained under the condition of extraction temperature of 9.1°C, (S,S)‐DIOP‐Pd concentration of 1.7 mmol/L, and pH of aqueous phase of 7.0. In addition, the possible recognition mechanism of (S,S)‐DIOP‐Pd towards 3‐chloro‐phenylglycine enantiomers was discussed.     

Substituent effects on chiral resolutions of derivatized 1‐phenylalkylamines by heptakis(2,3‐di‐O‐methyl‐6‐O‐tert‐butyldimethylsilyl)‐β‐cyclodextrin GC stationary phase

Chiral resolutions of trifluoroacetyl‐derivatized 1‐phenylalkylamines with different type and position of substituent were investigated by capillary gas chromatography by using heptakis(2,3‐di‐O‐methyl‐6‐O‐tert‐butyldimethylsilyl)‐β‐cyclodextrin diluted in OV‐1701 as a chiral stationary phase. The influence of column temperature on retention and enantioselectivity was examined. All enantiomers of meta‐substituted analytes as well as fluoro‐substituted analytes could be resolved. Temperature had a favorable influence on enantioselectivity for small amines with substituents at the ortho‐position. The type of substituent at the stereogenic center of amines also had a crucial effect as the ethyl group led to poor enantioseparation. Among all analytes studied, trifluoroacetyl‐derivatized 1‐(2′‐fluorophenyl)ethylamine exhibited baseline resolution with the shortest analysis time.     

Chiral stationary phases in HPLC for the stereoselective determination of methadone

An extensive study of the behavior of three chiral stationary phases (CSP) used in liquid chromatography (LC) is presented for the stereoselective determination of methadone. The following chromatographic columns were selected: a cellulose, Chiralcel OJ; a modified cyclodextrin, Cyclobond I 2000 RSP, and a protein, Chiral‐AGP. Retention factors, enantioselectivity, efficiency, and resolution were tested by modifying the composition of the mobile phase as well as the temperature. The mechanism for the chiral recognition of methadone on each support was discussed. Optimal chromatographic parameters were obtained for the three supports tested, and methadone enantiomers were separated in less than 20 minutes. The cellulose‐based column gave the best resolution, but this CSP was not adapted to clinical analyses of methadone. Under optimized conditions, the cyclodextrin‐ and protein‐based columns allowed an excellent separation of methadone enantiomers, but no interference with the primary metabolite was found only with Chiral‐AGP. Chirality 11:319–325, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Direct Enantioseparation of Nitrogen‐heterocyclic Pesticides on Amylose‐tris‐(5‐chloro‐2‐methylphenylcarbamate) by Reversed‐Phase High‐Performance Liquid Chromatography

In this study, 11 nitrogen‐heterocyclic pesticides were stereoselectively separated on amylose‐tris‐(5‐chloro‐2‐methylphenylcarbamate) chiral stationary phase, using reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector and optical rotation detector at 426 nm. The effects of mobile phase composition and column temperature (5–40 °C) on separation were investigated. When acetonitrile and water were used as mobile phase, satisfactory separations were obtained on amylose‐tris‐(5‐chloro‐2‐methylphenylcarbamate) for four pesticides with elution orders of (+)/(?)‐simeconazole (1) , (?)/(+)‐nuarimol (3) , (?)/(+)‐carfentrazone‐ethyl (4) , and (?)/(+)/(?)/(+)‐bromuconazole (9) and part separations for three with elution orders of (?)/(+)‐famoxadone (6) , (+)/(?)‐fenbuconazole (10) , and (?)/(+)‐triapenthenol (11) . Only two chromatographic peaks on diode array detector were obtained for diclobutrazol (2) , cyproconazole (5) , etaconazole (7) , and metconazole (8) , although they should have four stereoisomers in theory because of presences of two chiral centers in molecules. The stereoisomeric optical signals of all pesticides did not reverse with temperature changes but would reverse with different solvent types for some pesticides. These results will be useful to prepare and analyze individual enantiomers of chiral pesticides. Chirality 24:1031–1036, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Determination of absolute configuration in 4‐aryl‐3,4‐dihydro‐2(1H)‐pyrimidones by high performance liquid chromatography and CD spectroscopy

The absolute configuration of three 4‐aryl‐3,4‐dihydro‐2(1H)‐pyrimidones (Biginelli compounds, DHPMs) was established by comparison of the typical circular dichroism (CD) spectra of individual enantiomers with reference samples of known absolute configuration. The enantiomers were obtained by semipreparative separation of racemic mixtures on a Chiralcel OD‐H chiral stationary phase. The method was used to establish the enantiopreference of various lipases in biocatalytic kinetic resolution experiments employing activated DHPM esters. Chirality 11:659–662, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Chromatographic profiles of tryptophan and kynurenine enantiomers derivatized with (S)‐4‐(3‐isothiocyanatopyrrolidin‐1‐yl)‐7‐(N,N‐dimethylaminosulfonyl)‐2,1,3‐benzoxadiazole using LC–MS/MS on a triazole‐bonded column

d ‐ and l ‐Tryptophan (Trp) and d ‐ and l ‐kynurenine (KYN) were derivatized with a chiral reagent, (S )‐4‐(3‐isothiocyanatopyrrolidin‐1‐yl)‐7‐(N,N‐dimethylaminosulfonyl)‐2,1,3‐benzoxadiazole (DBD‐PyNCS), and were separated enantiomerically by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with a triazole‐bonded column (Cosmosil HILIC) using tandem mass spectrometric (MS/MS) detection. Effects of column temperature, salt (HCO₂NH₄) concentration, and pH of the mobile phase in the enantiomeric separation, followed by MS detection of (S )‐DBD‐PyNCS‐d ,l ‐Trp and ‐d ,l ‐KYN, were investigated. The mobile phase consisting of CH₃CN/10 mM ammonium formate in H₂O (pH 5.0) (90/10) with a column temperature of 50–60 °C gave satisfactory resolution (R s) and mass‐spectrometric detection. The enantiomeric separation of d ,l ‐Trp and d ,l ‐KYN produced R s values of 2.22 and 2.13, and separation factors (α) of 1.08 and 1.08, for the Trp and KYN enantiomers, respectively. The proposed LC–MS/MS method provided excellent detection sensitivity of both enantiomers of Trp and KYN (5.1–19 nM).     

Chiral separation of phospine‐containing α‐amino acid derivatives using two complementary cellulosic stationary phases in supercritical fluid chromatography

Enantiomeric separations of six amino‐acid derivatives have been studied using packed‐column supercritical fluid chromatography with two polysaccharide‐based enantioselective stationary phases: cellulose tris(3,5‐dimethylphenylcarbamate) and cellulose tris(3‐chloro‐4‐methylphenylcarbamate) (Lux Cellulose‐1 and ‐2). The effect of analyte structure on retention and separation was studied. Varied mobile phase compositions were investigated: alcohol modifier percentage was increased from 3 to 40% but smaller amounts were most effective in separating these compounds. Besides, ethanol was preferred to methanol or isopropanol as it proved to be a good compromise to achieve sufficient resolution in a reasonable analysis time. Moreover, a carbon dioxide‐ethanol mixture allows performing analyses in safe and green conditions. The effect of temperature at constant mobile phase composition was explored between 10 and 40°C. In most cases, increasing the temperature improved the chiral separation, up to an optimum temperature. The results are discussed in line with the structure variation of the racemic derivatives analyzed and the two columns are compared. The two columns were shown to provide complementary selectivities for the investigated solutes: whereas Lux 1 provided separation for five of the six racemates, Lux 2 could resolve the last racemic mixture. Finally, optimized conditions of separation are defined. Chirality, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Liquid and subcritical fluid chromatographic enantioseparation of Nα‐Fmoc proteinogenic amino acids on Quinidine‐based zwitterionic and anion‐exchanger type chiral stationary phases. A comparative study

Stereoselective high‐performance liquid chromatographic and subcritical fluid chromatographic separations of 19 N^α‐Fmoc proteinogenic amino acid enantiomers were carried out by using Quinidine ‐based zwitterionic and anion‐exchanger‐type chiral stationary phases Chiralpak ZWIX(−) and QD‐AX. For optimization of retention and enantioselectivity, the ratio of bulk solvent components (MeOH/MeCN, H₂O/MeOH, or CO₂/MeOH) and the nature and concentration of the acid and base additives (counter‐ and co‐ions) were systematically varied. The effect of column temperature on the enantioseparation was investigated and thermodynamic parameters were calculated from the van't Hoff plots ln α vs. 1/T. The thermodynamic parameters revealed that the enantioseparations were enthalpy‐driven. The elution sequence was determined in all cases and with the exception of Fmoc‐Cys(Trt)‐OH, it was identical on both chiral stationary phases whereby the L‐enantiomers eluted before the D‐enantiomers.     

Thermodynamic analysis of ANS binding to partially unfolded α‐lactalbumin: correlation of endothermic to exothermic changeover with formation of authentic molten globules

A fluorescent reporter, 8‐anilino‐1‐naphthalene sulfonic acid (ANS), can serve as a reference molecule for conformational transition of a protein because its aromatic carbons have strong affinity with hydrophobic cores of partially unfolded molten globules. Using a typical calcium‐binding protein, bovine α‐lactalbumin (BLA), as a model protein, we compared the ANS binding thermodynamics to the decalcified (10 mM EDTA treated) apo‐BLA at two representative temperatures: 20 and 40 °C. This is because the authentic molten globule is known to form more heavily at an elevated temperature such as 40 °C. Isothermal titration calorimetry experiments revealed that the BLA–ANS interactions at both temperatures were entropy‐driven, and the dissociation constants were similar on the order of 10^?4 M, but there was a dramatic changeover in the binding thermodynamics from endothermic at 20 °C to exothermic at 40 °C. We believe that the higher subpopulation of authentic molten globules at 40 °C than 20 °C would be responsible for the results, which also indicate that weak binding is sufficient to alter the ANS binding mechanisms. We expect that the thermodynamic properties obtained from this study would serve as a useful reference for investigating the binding of other hydrophobic ligands such as oleic acid to apo‐BLA, because oleic acid is known to have tumor‐selective cytotoxicity when complexed with partially unfolded α‐lactalbumin. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.