The influence of water on the memory effect of the amylose tris(3,5-dimethylphenyl carbamate) stationary phase

Acid/base modifiers are sometimes used as additives in normal phase elution on columns packed with CHIRALPAK^® AD^®. These modifiers affect enantioseparations in ways that are not yet fully understood for the lack of systematic studies. Shifts of the selectivity of certain pairs of enantiomers upon exposure of the column to these modifiers is amply documented. Furthermore, once the modifier has been removed from the mobile phase, the modified selectivity remains, which has been named the Memory Effect. After a column has been exposed to an eluent stream containing acidic/basic modifiers, this particular column no longer separates certain enantiomeric pairs with the same selectivity as a modifier naive column. This makes the transfer of developed methods from one to other CHIRALPAK AD columns difficult to predict, if the selectivity needs to be similar between the two columns. We selected four enantiomeric pairs for a systematic study of this Memory Effect. The selectivity of 4-chlorophenylalanine ethyl ester improves after a solution of ethanesulfonic acid (ESA) is percolated through the column. The selectivity of Propranolol and Tröger's base increases after a solution of Diiospropylamine is percolated through the column. The selectivity of Propranolol and Tröger's base enantiomers is inversely affected by percolation of the acid solution. The 4-chlorophenylalanine ethyl ester enantiomers is inversely affected by percolation of the base solution. In contrast, the selectivity of trans-stilbene oxide (TSO) is not affected by either modifier. Analytical studies of the stationary phase suggest that slow protonation/deprotonation of water molecules attached to the carbamate moiety may be responsible for the acid/base Memory Effect. To further the understanding of the effect of water on the Memory Effect, mobile phases – spiked with water (0.01–0.43%) – were used to measure changes in the Memory Effect. Finally, we showed that the influence of water on the Memory Effect can be minimized by percolating through the column a sufficiently concentrated solution of the appropriate base while using dried mobile phases.