Distribution behavior of some drug enantiomers in an aqueous two-phase system using counter-current extraction with protein

Summary The partial resolution of some drug enantiomers by counter-current extraction in an aqueous two-phase system using bovine serum albumin (BSA) or ovomucoid (OVM) as chiral discriminator is described. The phase system was prepared with dextran 40, polyethylene glycol and a protein. Ofloxacin (OFLX) enantiomer was well recognized by the BSA system, whereas the enantiomers of carvedilol (-blocker) and DG-5128 (a new oral hypoglycaemic drug) were hardly recognized by the OVM system. The distribution coefficients of (S)-, (R)- and rac-OFLX varied with pH. Good enantioselectivity for OFLX was obtained at relatively high pH ( pH 9). The crude optically enriched OFLX enantiomers were extracted from the aqueous fractions and finally purified by thin-layer chromatography.