The effect of analyte lipophilicity on the resolution of α-amino acids on a HPLC chiral stationary phase based on crown ether

The effect of analyte lipophilicity on the resolution of α-amino acids on a chiral stationary phase based on chiral crown ether has been examined by the chromatographic resolution trends for the resolution of a homologous series of five α-amino acids with an alkyl group of different length at the chiral center. The retention factors (k₁ and k₂) for the two enantiomers and the separation factors (α) were found to depend on the lipophilicity of the α-amino acid. In general, the retention factors increased as the organic modifier content in the mobile phase increased, the degree of the enhancement of retention factors being dependent on the analyte lipophilicity. The separation factors also increased as the analyte lipophilicity and the organic modifier content in the mobile phase increased. Possible rationales for these behaviors have been proposed.