Separation of epimeric aromatic acid (−)‐menthol esters by countercurrent chromatography using hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin as an additive

The separation of ten epimeric aromatic acid (−)‐menthol esters by countercurrent chromatography with hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin as the mobile phase additive was investigated, and methods for the analysis of all the epimeric esters by reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography were established. A biphasic solvent system composed of n‐hexane/20–70% methanol containing 50 mmol/L of hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin (1:1, v/v) was selected, which provided high separation factors for five of the epimeric esters, and successful separations by countercurrent chromatography were achieved. The complete separation of five pairs of epimeric ester was obtained with the purity being over 98% for each peak fractions, as determined by high‐performance liquid chromatography. The recovery of each analyte from the eluted fractions reached around 80–88%.     

纤维素衍生物手性固定相高效液相色谱法分离盐酸川丁特罗对映体

以纤维素三-(3,5-二甲基苯基氨基甲酸酯)为手性固定相(Lux Cellulose-1),建立了在正相色谱条件下直接分离盐酸川丁特罗对映体的高效液相色谱法。考察了乙醇、异丙醇等有机改性剂,三氟乙酸、二乙胺等流动相添加剂和柱温对对映体分离的影响。结果显示,酸性和碱性添加剂对对映体分离的影响最为显著: 添加二乙胺时两对映体无分离趋势;添加三氟乙酸时对映体保留强,且分离趋势明显;而同时添加三氟乙酸和二乙胺则两对映体分离显著改善,分离度可达4.0。优化后的色谱条件: 色谱柱为Lux Cellulose-1手性柱(250 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm),流动相为正庚烷-乙醇-三氟乙酸-二乙胺(88:12:0.3:0.05, v/v/v/v),流速为1.0 mL/min,紫外检测波长为246 nm,柱温为25 ℃。该方法简便,快速,可用于左旋盐酸川丁特罗原料中右旋异构体杂质的检查。     

An insight into the use of dimethylphenyl carbamate cyclofructan 7 chiral stationary phase in supercritical fluid chromatography: The basic comparison with HPLC

Cyclofructan‐based chiral stationary phases were previously shown as a promising possibility for separation of chiral compounds in high performance liquid chromatography. In this work retention and enantiodiscrimination properties of the 3,5‐dimethylphenyl carbamate cyclofructan 7 chiral stationary phase are described in supercritical fluid chromatography. The results obtained in both of the separation methods were compared. A set of compounds with axial or central chirality was used as analytes. The effect of mobile phase composition, that is, addition of different alcohol modifiers and/or trifluoroacetic acid to carbon dioxide, was examined in the supercritical system. Similarly, mobile phases composed of hexane modified with propan‐2‐ol and/or trifluoracetic acid were used in liquid chromatography. A linear free energy relationship model was utilized for characterization of interactions that are decisive for retention and separation in both techniques. Dispersion interactions showed similar negative values using both methods. The main contribution of hydrogen bond acidity was also comparable for both methods. The propensity to interact with n‐ and/or π‐electron pairs of solutes was significant only in the supercritical system.     

Combinative application of pH‐zone‐refining and conventional high‐speed counter‐current chromatography for preparative separation of caged polyprenylated xanthones from gamboge

An efficient method for the preparative separation of four structurally similar caged xanthones from the crude extracts of gamboge was established, which involves the combination of pH‐zone‐refining counter‐current chromatography and conventional high‐speed counter‐current chromatography for the first time. pH‐zone‐refining counter‐current chromatography was performed with the solvent system composed of n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (7:3:8:2, v/v/v/v), where 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid was added to the upper organic stationary phase as a retainer and 0.03% triethylamine was added to the aqueous mobile phase as an eluter. From 3.157 g of the crude extract, 1.134 g of gambogic acid, 180.5 mg of gambogenic acid and 572.9 mg of a mixture of two other caged polyprenylated xanthones were obtained. The mixture was further separated by conventional high‐speed counter‐current chromatography with a solvent system composed of n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (5:5:10:5, v/v/v/v) and n‐hexane/methyl tert‐butyl ether/acetonitrile/water (8:2:6:4,v/v/v/v), yielding 11.6 mg of isogambogenic acid and 10.4 mg of β‐morellic acid from 218.0 mg of the mixture, respectively. The purities of all four of the compounds were over 95%, as determined by high‐performance liquid chromatography, and the chemical structures of the four compounds were confirmed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. The combinative application of pH‐zone‐refining counter‐current chromatography and conventional high‐speed counter‐current chromatography shows great advantages in isolating and enriching the caged polyprenylated xanthones.     

高效液相色谱手性流动相添加法拆分奥昔布宁对映体

采用C18固定相,以羟丙基-β-环糊精为手性流动相添加剂,建立了奥昔布宁对映体的高效液相色谱拆分方法。考察了手性添加剂、有机极性调节剂、缓冲盐的种类和浓度以及流动相的pH值和流速及柱温等因素对对映体分离的影响。在最佳分离条件下,奥昔布宁对映体的分离度为1.54,检测限为1.0 ng。该方法简便,重复性好,比手性固定相法更加经济。     

Enhanced‐fluidity liquid chromatography using mixed‐mode hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography/strong cation‐exchange retention mechanisms

The potential of enhanced‐fluidity liquid chromatography, a subcritical chromatography technique, in mixed‐mode hydrophilic interaction/strong cation‐exchange separations is explored, using amino acids as analytes. The enhanced‐fluidity liquid mobile phases were prepared by adding liquefied CO₂ to methanol/water mixtures, which increases the diffusivity and decreases the viscosity of the mixture. The addition of CO₂ to methanol/water mixtures resulted in increased retention of the more polar amino acids. The “optimized” chromatographic performance (achieving baseline resolution of all amino acids in the shortest amount of time) of these methanol/water/CO₂ mixtures was compared to traditional acetonitrile/water and methanol/water liquid chromatography mobile phases. Methanol/water/CO₂ mixtures offered higher efficiencies and resolution of the ten amino acids relative to the methanol/water mobile phase, and decreased the required isocratic separation time by a factor of two relative to the acetonitrile/water mobile phase. Large differences in selectivity were also observed between the enhanced‐fluidity and traditional liquid mobile phases. A retention mechanism study was completed, that revealed the enhanced‐fluidity mobile phase separation was governed by a mixed‐mode retention mechanism of hydrophilic interaction/strong cation‐exchange. On the other hand, separations with acetonitrile/water and methanol/water mobile phases were strongly governed by only one retention mechanism, either hydrophilic interaction or strong cation exchange, respectively.     

Separation and purification of two taxanes and one xylosyl‐containing taxane from Taxus wallichiana Zucc.: A comparison between high‐speed countercurrent chromatography and reversed‐phase flash chromatography

10‐Deacetylbaccatin III, an important semisynthetic precursor of paclitaxel and docetaxel, can be extracted from Taxus wallichiana Zucc. A process for the isolation and purification of 10‐deacetylbaccatin III ( 1 ), baccatin III ( 2 ), and 7β‐xylosyl‐10‐deacetyltaxol ( 3 ) from the leaves and branches of Taxus wallichiana Zucc. via macroporous resin column chromatography combined with high‐speed countercurrent chromatography or reversed‐phase flash chromatography was developed in this study. After fractionation by macroporous resin column chromatography, 80% methanol fraction was selected based on high‐performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry qualitative analysis. A solvent system composed of n‐hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol, and water (1.6:2.5:1.6:2.5, v/v/v/v) was used for the high‐speed countercurrent chromatography separation at a flow rate of 2.5 mL/min. The reversed‐phase flash chromatography separation was performed using methanol/water as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 3 mL/min. The high‐speed countercurrent chromatography separation produced compounds 1 (10.2 mg, 94.4%), 2 (2.1 mg, 98.0%), and 3 (4.6 mg, 98.8%) from 100 mg of sample within 110 min, while the reversed‐phase flash chromatography separation purified compounds 1 (9.8 mg, 95.6%) and 3 (4.9 mg, 97.9%) from 100 mg of sample within 120 min.     

Preparative enantioseparation of loxoprofen precursor by recycling countercurrent chromatography with hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin as a chiral selector

Recycling countercurrent chromatography was successfully applied to the resolution of 2‐(4‐bromomethylphenyl)propionic acid, a key synthetic intermediate for synthesis of nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drug loxoprofen, using hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin as chiral selector. The two‐phase solvent system composed of n‐hexane/n‐butyl acetate/0.1 mol/L citrate buffer solution with pH 2.4 (8:2:10, v/v/v) was selected. Influence factors for the enantioseparation were optimized, including type of substituted β‐cyclodextrin, concentration of hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin, separation temperature, and pH of aqueous phase. Under optimized separation conditions, 50 mg of 2‐(4‐bromomethylphenyl)propionic acid was enantioseparated using preparative recycling countercurrent chromatography. Technical details for recycling elution mode were discussed. The purities of both the S and R enantiomers were over 99.0% as determined by high‐performance liquid chromatography. The enantiomeric excess of the S and R enantiomers reached 98.0%. The recovery of the enantiomers from eluted fractions was 40.8–65.6%, yielding 16.4 mg of the S enantiomer and 10.2 mg of the R enantiomer. At the same time, we attempted to enantioseparate the anti‐inflammatory drug loxoprofen by countercurrent chromatography and high‐performance liquid chromatography using a chiral mobile phase additive. However, no successful enantioseparation was achieved so far.     

Enantiomeric separation of amlodipine and its two chiral impurities by nano‐liquid chromatography and capillary electrochromatography using a chiral stationary phase based on cellulose tris(4‐chloro‐3‐methylphenylcarbamate)

In this work, a novel polysaccharide‐based chiral stationary phase, cellulose tris(4‐chloro‐3‐methylphenylcarbamate), also called Sepapak 4 has been evaluated for the chiral separation of amlodipine (AML) and its two impurities. AML is a powerful vasodilatator drug used for the treatment of hypertension. Capillary columns of 100 μm id packed with the chiral stationary phase were used for both nano‐LC and CEC experiments. The optimization of the mobile phase composed of ACN/water, (90:10, v/v) containing 15 mM ammonium borate pH 10.0 in nano‐LC allowed the chiral separation of AML and the two impurities, but not in a single run. With the purpose to obtain the separation of the three pairs of enantiomers simultaneously, CEC analyses were performed in the same conditions achieving better enantioresolution and higher separation efficiencies for each compound. To fully resolve the mixture of six enantiomers, parameters such as buffer pH and concentration sample injection have been then investigated. A mixture of ACN/water (90:10, v/v) containing 5 mM ammonium borate buffer pH 9.0 enabled the complete separation of the three couples of enantiomers in less than 30 min. The optimized CEC method was therefore validated and applied to the analysis of pharmaceutical formulation declared to contain only AML racemate.     

Preparative separation of bioactive constitutes from Zanthoxylum planispinum using linear gradient counter‐current chromatography

Counter‐current chromatography is a chromatographic technique with a support‐free liquid stationary phase. In the present study, a successful application of linear gradient counter‐current chromatographic method for preparative isolation of bioactive components from the crude ethanol extract of Zanthoxylum planispinum was presented. The application of n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water quaternary solvents, in terms of “HEMWat” or “Arizona” solvent families, in gradient elution mode was evaluated. Results indicated that slightly proportional changes of biphasic liquid systems provided the possibility of gradient elution in counter‐current chromatography, maintaining stationary phase retention in the column. With the selected quaternary solvent systems composed of n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (2:1:2:1 and 3:2:3:2, v/v), and optimized gradient programs, in total seven fractions were separated in 4.5 h. Most of the purified compounds could be obtained at the milligram level with over 80% purity. The present study indicated that the linear gradient counter‐current chromatographic approach possessed unique advantages in terms of separation efficiency, exhibiting great potential for the comprehensive separation of complex natural extracts.     

Separation of betacyanins from flowers of Amaranthus cruentus L. in a polar solvent system by high‐speed counter‐current chromatography

Betacyanin extract of Amaranthus cruentus L. flowers was fractionated by semi‐preparative high‐speed counter‐current chromatography in a highly polar solvent system: propan‐1‐ol/acetonitrile/(NH₄)₂SO_{4satd. soln}/H₂O (1.0:0.5:1.2:1.0, v/v/v/v) in tail‐to‐head mode with 76% retention of the stationary phase. The crude extract as well as the fractions containing betacyanins were analyzed by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry as well as by high‐resolution ion‐trap time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry detection technique for the molecular formulae and multi‐step fragmentation pattern elucidation. Four betacyanins; namely, amaranthin, betanin, 6′‐O‐formyl‐amaranthin, and 6′‐O‐malonyl‐amaranthin as well as their diastereomeric forms differing in the configuration of the C‐15 carbon atom were identified in the fractions. Amaranthin was the dominant pigment in the extract and was additionally analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance correlation techniques after the counter‐current chromatographic and high‐performance liquid chromatographic isolation. Betacyanins were highly enriched during a single high‐speed counter‐current chromatographic step; therefore, the tentative identification of new compounds for the whole Amaranthaceae family, 6′‐O‐formyl‐amaranthin and 6′‐O‐malonyl‐amaranthin was possible. Different elution profiles of the pigments observed in the counter‐current chromatographic system in comparison to high‐performance liquid chromatography system confirm a complementarity of both the techniques especially in the separation of diastereomeric pairs of betacyanins.     

Enantioseparation tuned by solvent polarity on a β‐cyclodextrin clicked chiral stationary phase

The efficient enantioseparation of 26 racemates has been achieved with the perphenylcarbamoylated cyclodextrin clicked chiral stationary phase by screening the optimum composition of mobile phase in high‐performance liquid chromatography. The chromatographic results indicate that both the retention and chiral resolution of racemates are closely related to the polarity of the mobile phases and the structures of analytes. The addition of alcohols can significantly tune the enantioseparation in normal‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography. The addition of methanol and the ratio of ethanol/methanol or isopropanol/methanol played a key role on the resolution of flavonoids in ternary eluent systems. The chiral separation of flavonoids with pure organic solvent as mobile phase indicates the preferential order for chiral resolution is methanol>ethanol>isopropanol>n‐propanol>acetonitrile.     

Liquid chromatographic resolution of racemic rasagiline and its analogues on a chiral stationary phase based on (+)‐(18‐crown‐6)‐2,3,11,12‐tetracarboxylic acid

A liquid chromatographic chiral stationary phase based on (+)‐(18‐crown‐6)‐2,3,11,12‐tetracarboxylic acid was applied to the resolution of 15 analytes, including racemic rasagiline, a chiral drug for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, and its analogues. The composition of mobile phase was optimized to be ethanol/acetonitrile/acetic acid/triethylamine (80:20:0.2:0.3, v/v/v/v) by evaluating the chromatographic results for the resolution of five selected analytes under various mobile phase conditions. Under the optimized mobile phase conditions, racemic rasagiline was resolved quite well with a separation factor of 1.48 and resolution of 2.71 and its 14 analogues were also resolved reasonably well with separation factors of 1.06–1.54 and resolutions of 0.54–2.11. Among 15 analytes, racemic rasagiline was resolved best except for just one analyte. The analyte structure–enantioselectivity relationship indicated that racemic rasagiline has the most appropriate structural characteristics for resolution on the chiral stationary phase.     

Isolation of terpenoids from Pimpinella anisum essential oil by high‐performance counter‐current chromatography

High‐performance counter‐current chromatography was successfully used for the isolation and purification of terpenoid compounds from the essential oil of Pimpinella anisum L. A two‐phase solvent system composed of n‐heptane/methanol/ethyl acetate/water (5:2:5:2, v/v/v/v) was suitable for the purification of linalool, terpinen‐4‐ol, α‐terpineol, p‐anisaldehyde, while n‐heptane/methanol (1:1, v/v) was used for the isolation of anethole and foeniculin. A scale‐up process from analytical to preparative was developed. Additionally, a stepwise gradient elution was applied and instead of two different runs, 40 min each, one 80 min separation was performed; although the time of separation remains the same, it was possible to repeat the efficiency even if the water‐containing mobile phase was changed to a nonaqueous system. The obtained essential oil, as well as purified compounds, was analyzed by GC. A total of 0.64 mg of linalool, 0.52 mg of terpinen‐4‐ol, 0.10 mg of α‐terpineol, 0.62 mg of p‐anisaldehyde, 15 mg of anethole, and 2.12 mg of foeniculin were obtained from 210 mg of the essential oil of P. anisum L. in a short time with purities of 99, 98, 94, 93.54, 93, and 93.6%, respectively.     

Efficient preparative separation of β‐cypermethrin stereoisomers by supercritical fluid chromatography with a two‐step combined strategy

An efficient two‐step method has been developed for the separation of β‐cypermethrin stereoisomers by supercritical fluid chromatography with polysaccharide chiral stationary phases. With respect to retention, selectivity, and resolution of β‐cypermethrin, the effects of chiral stationary phases, cosolvents, mobile phases, and column temperature have been studied in detail. Through a two‐step separation, β‐cypermethrin was firstly separated by using a cellulose‐derived chiral stationary phase to obtain two stereoisomeric pairs, and further resolved on an amylose‐based chiral stationary phase to produce four enantiopure stereoisomers. The electronic circular dichroism patterns of the first‐ and the third‐eluted isomers in methanol solution showed the mirror image of each other in the wavelength range 200∼300 nm, indicating that they were a pair of enantiomers. Moreover, the second‐ and the fourth‐eluted isomers were also enantiomers. This proposed two‐step strategy showed low solvent consumption, fast separation speed, and high‐purity, which may provide an effective approach for preparative separation of compounds with multiple chiral centers and difficult‐to‐separate multicomponent samples.     

Feasibility of Phospholipids Separation by Packed Column SFC with Mass Spectrometric and Light Scattering Detection

Phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylinositol (PI), and phosphatidylserine (PS) have been separated by supercritical fluid chromatography coupled with evaporative light scattering and mass spectrometric detection. Four different silica based stationary phases were investigated: diol, cyanopropyl, 2-ethylpyridine, and 4-ethylpyridine. A gradient mobile phase of pressurized carbon dioxide modified with methanol was employed. The individual effect of basic (isopropylamine), acidic (trifluoroacetic acid), and ionic (ammonium acetate) additives incorporated into the primary modifier on the separation of these four lipids from the four stationary phases was investigated. No additive was required to effect the elution of PC and PE (which differed only in polar head group) from any of the four phases. When the two ethylpyridine phases were used, near baseline resolution of two species in each lipid case that differed in fatty acid content were seen. PS and PI could be successfully eluted from each phase when isopropylamine was added to the mobile phase, although the PS peak was always weak and very broad. Ammonium acetate was a more effective additive for phospholipid separation than trifluoroacetic acid. All chromatographic separations were reproducible and required less than 15 min.     

基于直链淀粉衍生物手性固定相的高效液相色谱-串联质谱法拆分4种β-受体阻滞剂对映体及其分离机制的探讨

建立了以直链淀粉衍生物为手性固定相的高效液相色谱-串联质谱(HPLC-MS/MS)直接拆分普萘洛尔、美托洛尔、阿罗洛尔和卡维地洛4种β-受体阻滞剂对映体的方法。考察了手性固定相的种类、流动相改性剂和添加剂的体积分数、柱温和流速等对4种药物对映体分离的影响。结果表明:在Chiralpak AD-H手性色谱柱上,在正己烷-乙醇-二乙胺(20∶80∶0.03,v/v/v)为流动相、流速0.550 mL/min、柱温40℃的条件下,普萘洛尔、美托洛尔、阿罗洛尔和卡维地洛对映体均达到基线分离,分离度分别为1.37、1.80、2.09和4.70。通过热力学研究及对映体结构分析对拆分机理进行了探讨,发现4种药物对映体的手性拆分均为焓驱动过程,而固定相的手性空腔对不同药物的拆分影响较大。研究结果为β-受体阻滞剂的深入研究提供了参考方法。     

Enantioseparation of tryptophan and its unnatural derivatives by nano‐LC on CSP‐teicoplanin silica based

This work deals with the potentiality of nano liquid chromatography (Nano‐LC) for the chiral separation of racemic mixture of tryptophan and some selected derivatives by using 100 µm i.d. fused silica capillary packed with teicoplanin bonded to 5 µm diol silica stationary phase. The experiments were carried out by using a cheap and laboratory‐assembled nano‐LC–UV system. Elution was done in an isocratic mode using a polar organic mobile phase. In order to find the optimum chiral separation of the studied enantiomers, some chromatographic experimental parameters were systematically studied and optimized. Among them, mobile phase composition, namely organic modifier type and concentration, buffer type and pH and aqueous content and sample solvent dilution on retention time, retention factor and enantioresolution factor were studied. Baseline enantioresolution and good peak shape was achieved utilizing the mobile phase containing 40 mM ammonium formate at pH pH 2.5 in ACN/water/acetone (60:30:10, v/v/v) at 520 nL/min in less than 8 min analysis time.     

Preparative and scaled‐up separation of high‐purity α‐linolenic acid from perilla seed oil by conventional and pH‐zone refining counter current chromatography

α‐Linolenic acid is an essential omega‐3 fatty acid needed for human health. However, the isolation of high‐purity α‐linolenic acid from plant resources is challenging. The preparative separation methods of α‐linolenic acid by both conventional and pH‐zone refining counter current chromatography were firstly established in this work. The successful separation of α‐linolenic acid by conventional counter current chromatography was achieved by the optimized solvent system n‐heptane/methanol/ water/acetic acid (10:9:1:0.04, v/v), producing 466 mg of 98.98% α‐linolenic acid from 900 mg free fatty acid sample prepared from perilla seed oil with linoleic acid and oleic acid as by‐products. The scaled‐up separation in 45× is efficient without loss of resolution and extension of separation time. The separation of α‐linolenic acid by pH‐zone refining counter current chromatography was also satisfactory by the solvent system n‐hexane/methanol/water (10:5:5, v/v) and the optimized concentration of trifluoroacetic acid 30 mM and NH₄OH 10 mM. The separation can be scaled up in 180× producing 9676.7 mg of 92.79% α‐linolenic acid from 18 000 mg free fatty acid sample. pH‐zone refining counter current chromatography exhibits a great advantage over conventional counter current chromatography with 20× sample loading capacity on the same column.     

Green high‐performance liquid chromatography enantioseparation of lansoprazole using a cellulose‐based chiral stationary phase under ethanol/water mode

A simple and environmentally friendly reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography method for the separation of the enantiomers of lansoprazole has been developed. The chromatographic resolution was carried out on the cellulose‐based Chiralpak IC‐3 chiral stationary phase using a green and low‐toxicity ethanol‐aqueous mode. The effects of water content in the mobile phase and column temperature on the retention of the enantiomers of lansoprazole and its chiral and achiral related substances have been carefully investigated. A mixed‐mode hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography and reversed‐phase retention mechanism operating on the IC‐3 chiral stationary phase allowed us to achieve simultaneous enantioselective and chemoselective separations in water‐rich conditions. The enantiomers of lansoprazole were baseline resolved with a mobile phase consisting of ethanol/water 50:50 without any interference coming from chiral and achiral impurities within 10 min.