Indirect resolution ofß-blocker agents by reversed-phase capillary electrochromatography

(+) or (-)-1-(9-fluorenyl)ethyl chloroformate as chiral derivatizing agent: A review

Over the last 30years, (±)-1-(9-fluorenyl)ethyl chloroformate ((±)-FLEC) was used as a chiral derivatizing agent in various analytical applications involving a wide range of endogenous, pharmaceutical and environmentally relevant molecules. This comprehensive review aims to present all the significant aspects related to the state of the art in FLEC labeling and subsequent chiral separation of the resulting diastereomers using LC, SFC and CE techniques.

A micellar electrokinetic chromatography-mass spectrometry approach using in-capillary diastereomeric derivatization for fully automatized chiral analysis of amino acids

In the context of bioanalytical method development, process automatization is nowadays a necessity in order to save time, improve method reliability and reduce costs. For the first time, a fully automatized micellar electrokinetic chromatography-mass spectrometry (MEKC-MS) method with in-capillary derivatization was developed for the chiral analysis of d- and l-amino acids using (-)-1-(9-fluorenyl) ethyl chloroformate (FLEC) as labeling reagent. The derivatization procedure was optimized using an experimental design approach leading to the following conditions: sample and FLEC plugs in a 2:1 ratio (15s, 30mbar: 7.5s, 30mbar) followed by 15min of mixing using a voltage of 0.1kV. The formed diastereomers were then separated using a background electrolyte (BGE) consisting of 150mM ammonium perfluorooctanoate (APFO) (pH=9.5) and detected by mass spectrometry (MS). Complete chiral resolution was obtained for 8 amino acids, while partial separation was achieved for 6 other amino acid pairs. The method showed good reproducibility and linearity in the low micromolar concentration range. The applicability of the method to biological samples was tested by analyzing artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF) samples.

Chiral derivatizations applied for the separation of unusual amino acid enantiomers by liquid chromatography and related techniques

Amino acids are essential for life, and have many functions in metabolism. One particularly important function is to serve as the building blocks of peptides and proteins, giving rise complex three dimensional structures through disulfide bonds or crosslinked amino acids. Peptides are frequently cyclic and contain proteinogenic as well as nonproteinogenic amino acids in many instances. Since most of the proteinogenic α-amino acids contain at least one stereogenic center (with the exception of glycine), the stereoisomers of all these amino acids and the peptides in which they are to be found may possess differences in biological activity in living systems. The impetus for advances in chiral separation has been highest in the past 25 years and this still continues to be an area of high focus. The important analytical task of the separation of isomers is achieved mainly by chromatographic and electrophoretic methods. This paper reviews indirect separation approaches, i.e. derivatization reactions aimed at creating the basis for the chromatographic resolution of biologically and pharmaceutically important enantiomers of unusual amino acids and related compounds, with emphasis on the literature published from 1980s. The main aspects of the chiral derivatization of amino acids are discussed, i.e. derivatization on the amino group, transforming the molecules into covalently bonded diastereomeric derivatives through the use of homochiral derivatizing agents. The diastereomers formed (amides, urethanes, urea and thiourea derivatives, etc.) can be separated on achiral stationary phases. The applications are considered, and in some cases different derivatizing agents for the resolution of complex mixtures of proteinogenic d,l-amino acids, non-proteinogenic amino acids and peptides/amino acids from peptide syntheses or microorganisms are compared.

Advances in the enantioseparation of β-blocker drugs by capillary electromigration techniques

β-Blocker drugs or β-adrenergic blocking agents are an important class of drugs, prescribed with great frequency. They are used for various diseases, particularly for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, cardioprotection after myocardial infarction (heart attack), and hypertension. Almost all β-blocker drugs possess one or more stereogenic centers; however; only some of them are administered as single enantiomers. Since both enantiomers can differ in their pharmacological and toxicological properties, enantioselective analytical methods are required not only for pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic studies but also for quality control of pharmaceutical preparations with the determination of enantiomeric purity. In addition to the chromatographic tools, in recent years, capillary electromigration techniques (CE, CEC, and MEKC) have been widely used for enantioselective purposes employing a variety of chiral selectors, e.g. CDs, polysaccharides, macrocyclic antibiotics, proteins, chiral ion-paring agents, etc. The high separation efficiency, rapid analysi,s and low consumption of reagents of electromigration methods make them a very attractive alternative to the conventional chromatographic methods. In this review, the development and applications of electrodriven methods for the enantioseparation of β-blocker drugs are reported. The papers concerning this topic, published from January 2000 until December 2010, are summarised here. Particular attention is given to the coupling of chiral CE and CEC methods to MS, as this detector provides high sensitivity and selectivity.

Recent accomplishments in the field of enantiomer separation by CEC

The present review intends to summarize recent developments in the field of enantioselective separations and analysis by CEC. It covers studies published in English language in common peer-reviewed journals within the period between 2003 and 2006. Both, methods making use of chiral mobile phase additives as well as chiral stationary phases for electrochromatographic enantiomer separations, are reviewed. Achievements that have been made on the various column technologies, such as open-tubular, particle-packed, inorganic, organic and particle-fixed (hybrid-type) monolithic as well as molecularly imprinted polymer phases, are discussed.

Recent applications in capillary electrochromatography

In this review research papers on the application of CEC are summarized that have been published between May 2003 and May 2005. First, a short overview is given of trends and developments in CEC that may increase the applicability of the separation technique. Next, application-oriented research using CEC is described in biochemical studies, including proteomics and genomics, in the analysis of food and natural products, and in pharmaceutical, industrial, and environmental analysis.

N-Menthoxycarbonylation combined with trimethylsilylation for enantioseparation of β-blockers by achiral dual-column gas chromatography

Solvent extractive two-phase menthoxycarbonyl (MnOC) derivatization was combined with trimethylsilyl (TMS) reaction for enantioseparation of beta-blockers by gas chromatography employing achiral DB-5 and DB-17 dual-columns of different polarity. beta-Blockers in alkaline solution were vortex-mixed with menthyl chloroformate present in dichloromethane to be extracted as diastereomeric N-MnOC derivatives. The subsequent O(N)-TMS reaction allowed complete enantioseparations of two beta-blockers and partial separations of five as N-MnOC/O(N)-TMS derivatives in a single analysis. The temperature-programmed retention index sets were characteristic of each derivative, facilitating chiral discrimination of each enantiomer.

Strategy for the chiral separation of non-acidic pharmaceuticals using capillary electrochromatography

In completion of an earlier defined generic chiral screening approach, a generic separation strategy for basic, bifunctional, and neutral compounds was proposed and evaluated. This strategy adds to a previously defined strategy for acidic compounds. The screening experiment of the actual strategy used a mobile phase of 5 mM phosphate buffer pH 11.5/ACN (30/70 v/v), a temperature of 25 degrees C, and a voltage of 15 kV. The selected chiral stationary phases were Chiralpak AD-RH, Chiralcel OD-RH, Chiralcel OJ-RH, and Chiralpak AS-RH, all based on polysaccharide selectors. It was seen that 31 out of 48 test compounds were partially or baseline-resolved under screening conditions. After execution of the optimization steps of the strategy, this number increased to 41, with a total of 21 baseline-separated compounds. Combined with the results obtained from the acidic test set examined in the earlier defined strategy, of all tested compounds 82.5% showed enantioselectivity and 49.2% could be baseline-separated.

Capillary electrochromatographic chiral separations with potential for pharmaceutical analysis

The use of capillary electrochromatography as a chiral separation technique for pharmaceutical applications is reviewed. Publications of the past 10 years that provide a potential practical application in pharmaceutical analysis are considered. Method development or validation, separation strategies, and potential routine analysis by the methods/applications cited are the main subjects on which we focused our attention. The indirect chiral separation method was only used once in CEC mode. In the direct chiral separations, the use of chiral stationary phases was obviously preferred over the use of chiral mobile phases with non-chiral stationary phases. Amongst the chiral stationary phases, those based on macrocyclic antibiotics and polysaccharide selectors were the most frequently used. Monolithic stationary phases also have several applications, but not so extended as those with packed capillary electrochromatography. The considered papers not only describe the applicability of the technique for relatively large sets of chiral analytes, they also showed that various types of stationary phases can be produced in-house in a simple manner. However, to survive as a mature separation technique, considerable time and effort are still needed to solve some disadvantages currently characterizing capillary electrochromatography.