Normal phase chiral HPLC of methylphenidate: comparison of different polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phases.

A comparison of the enantiomeric resolution of (+/-)-threo-methylphenidate (MPH) (Ritalin) was achieved on different polysaccharide based chiral stationary phases. The mobile phase used was hexane-ethanol-methanol-trifluoroacetic acid (480:9.75:9.75:0.5, v/v/v/v). Benzoic acid and phenol were used as the mobile phase additives for the enantiomeric resolution of MPH on Chiralcel OB column only. The alpha values for the resolved enantiomers were 1.34, 1.29, 1.30, and 1.24 on Chiralpak AD, Chiralcel OD, Chiralcel OB (containing 0.2 mM benzoic acid in mobile phase), and Chiralcel OB (containing 0.2 mM phenol in mobile phase) columns, respectively. The R(s) values were 1.82, 1.53, 1.19, and 1.10 on Chiralpak AD, Chiralcel OD, Chiralcel OB (containing 0.2 mM benzoic acid in mobile phase), and Chiralcel OB (containing 0.2 mM phenol in mobile phase), respectively. The role of benzoic acid and phenol as mobile phase additives is discussed.