Development of a chiral non-aqueous capillary electrophoretic system using the partial filling technique with UV and mass spectrometric detection

A chiral non-aqueous CE system with UV and mass spectrometric detection has been developed. The enantioseparation was promoted by diastereomeric complex (ion-pair) formation between the amines (e.g. salbutamol, atenolol) and the chiral selector, (-)-2,3:4,6-di-O-isopropylidene-2-keto-L-gulonic acid [(-)-DIKGA]. Different solvent mixtures were studied, as well as different concentrations of (-)-DIKGA and ammonium acetate in the background electrolyte. A partial filling technique was developed with a selector plug composed of (-)-DIKGA and ammonium acetate in a solvent mixture of methanol and 2-propanol. The separated enantiomers of pronethalol were detected by a Q-TOF MS system equipped with a sheath-flow electrospray ionization interface.     

Capillary electrophoresis separation of peptide diastereomers that contain methionine sulfoxide by dual cyclodextrin‐crown ether systems†

A dual‐selector system employing achiral crown ethers in combination with cyclodextrins has been developed for the separation of peptide diastereomers that contain methionine sulfoxide. The combinations of the crown ethers 15‐crown‐5, 18‐crown‐6, Kryptofix® 21 and Kryptofix® 22 and β‐cyclodextrin, carboxymethyl‐β‐cyclodextrin, and sulfated β‐cyclodextrin were screened at pH 2.5 and pH 8.0 using a 40/50.2 cm, 50 μm id fused‐silica capillary and a separation voltage of 25 kV. No diastereomer separation was observed in the sole presence of crown ethers, while only sulfated β‐cyclodextrin was able to resolve some peptide diastereomers at pH 8.0. Depending on the amino acid sequence of the peptide and the applied cyclodextrin, the addition of crown ethers, especially the Krpytofix® diaza‐crown ethers, resulted in significantly enhanced chiral recognition. Keeping one selector of the dual system constant, increasing concentrations of the second selector resulted in increased peak resolution and analyte migration time for peptide‐crown ether‐cyclodextrin combinations. The simultaneous diastereomer separation of three structurally related peptides was achieved using the dual selector system.     

Di-n-amyl L-tartrate-boric acid complex chiral selector in situ synthesis and its application in chiral nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis

A chiral selector, di-n-amyl L-tartrate-boric acid complex, was in situ synthesized by the reaction of di-n-amyl L-tartrate with boric acid in a nonaqueous background electrolyte (BGE) using methanol as the medium. And a new method of chiral nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) was developed with the complex as the chiral selector. It has been demonstrated that the chiral selector is suitable for the enantioseparation of some β-blockers and β-agonists in NACE. Some chiral analytes that could not be resolved in aqueous microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) with the same chiral selector obtained baseline resolutions in the NACE system. The enantioseparation mechanism was considered to be ion-pair principle and the nonaqueous system was more favorable for the ion-pair formation which is quite useful for the chiral recognition. The addition of a proper concentration of triethylamine into the BGE to control the apparent pH (pH*) enhanced the enantiomeric discrimination. In order to achieve a good enantioseparation, the effects of di-n-amyl L-tartrate and boric acid concentration, triethylamine concentration, applied voltage, as well as capillary length were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, all of the tested chiral analytes including six β-blockers and five β-agonists were baseline resolved.     

Evaluation of the enantioselectivity of glycogen-based dual chiral selector systems towards basic drugs in capillary electrophoresis

Several chiral reagents including cyclodextrins (CDs) and derivatives, crown ethers, proteins, chiral surfactants and polymers have been involved in dual selector systems for enantioseparation of a series of chiral compounds by capillary electrophoresis (CE). In comparison to the chiral reagents above-mentioned, there is no report concerning the use of polysaccharides in dual chiral CE system. In this paper we first investigate the enantioselectivity of polysaccharide-based dual selector systems towards some chiral drugs. During our recent work, glycogen belonging to the class of branched polysaccharides has been used as a novel chiral selector in CE. In this study, three glycogen-based dual chiral CE systems have been established for enantiomeric separations of several racemic basic drugs consisting of duloxetine, cetirizine, citalopram, sulconazole, laudanosine, amlodipine, propranolol, atenolol and nefopam. These three dual systems combined glycogen (neutral polysaccharide) with chondroitin sulfate A (CSA, ionic polysaccharide), β-CD and HP-β-CD, respectively. It was found that the dual system of glycogen/CSA exhibited good enantioselective properties toward the tested drugs. More importantly, compared to the single selector systems, synergistic effect was observed when glycogen was used with CSA for most of the analytes. This indicated the enhancement of enantioseparation observed for these analytes in glycogen/CSA system might be due to some favorable interaction effects between glycogen and CSA. Moreover, in order to evaluate the stereoselectivity of glycogen/CSA, the influences of buffer pH and selector concentration on enantioseparation of the studied drugs were also investigated.     

Evaluation of the enantioseparation capability of the novel chiral selector clindamycin phosphate towards basic drugs by micellar electrokinetic chromatography

To date, a series of chiral selectors have been utilized successfully in capillary electrophoresis (CE). Among these various chiral selectors, macrocyclic antibiotics have been demonstrated to represent powerful enantioselectivity towards many chiral compounds. Differing from macrocyclic antibiotics, the use of lincosamide antibiotics as chiral selectors has not been reported previously. In our recent work, clindamycin phosphate belonging to the group of lincosamides has been first used as a chiral selector in capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). In this paper, a micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) method has been developed for the evaluation of enantioseparation capability of this novel chiral selector towards several racemic basic drugs. As observed during the course of this work, clindamycin phosphate allowed excellent separation of the enantiomers of nefopam, citalopram, tryptophan, chlorphenamine, propranolol and metoprolol, as well as partial enantioresolution of tryptophan methyl ester and cetirizine. In this MEKC chiral separation system, different types of anionic surfactants, organic additives and background electrolytes were tested, and satisfactory enantioseparations of basic drugs above-mentioned were achieved using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as the surfactant, isopropanol as the organic additive, and phosphate as the background electrolyte. Furthermore, both migration times and enantioseparation of the analytes were influenced by several experimental parameters such as pH of the BGE, clindamycin phosphate and SDS concentrations, phosphate and isopropanol concentrations, and applied voltage. Consequently, the effects of these factors on enantioseparations of the studied basic drugs were systematically investigated in order to evaluate the stereoselectivity of clindamycin phosphate in MEKC.     

A new, highly sensitive time-of-flight mass spectrometer consisting of a flangeon-type conical ion lens system and a proto-type Daly detector for exhaust gas analysis based on the Jet-REMPI technique.

For the analysis of trace amounts of hazardous organic compounds, we developed a new ion detection system for supersonic jet resonance-enhanced multiphoton laser ionization mass spectrometry. High sensitivity and selectivity have been achieved by combining a proto-type Daly detector, a newly designed conical ion lens, and a potential switch that can perform the function of a mass selector. This ion detection system enables us to bring the jet nozzle closer to the ionization point. The detection sensitivity has thus been improved totally by more than 100 times compared with that obtained by the parallel-plate electrodes and micro-channel plate. We succeeded in assembling a flangeon-type ion extraction electrode consisting of a conical ion lens and a potential switch.     

Resolution of (+/-)-ibuprofen using (-)-brucine as a chiral selector by thin layer chromatography

The enantiomeric resolution of (+/-)-ibuprofen into its enantiomers was achieved by TLC on silica gel plate using optically pure (-)-brucine as a chiral selector and acetonitrile-methanol (5:1, v/v) as the solvent system. Spots were located in an iodine chamber. The detection limit was 4.9 microg. The effect of concentration of the chiral selector, temperature and pH on resolution has been studied.     

Enantioseparation of citalopram analogues with sulfated β‐cyclodextrin by capillary electrophoresis

Capillary electrophoresis methods were developed for the enantiomeric separation of 27 citalopram analogues. Sulfated β‐cyclodextrin was the most broadly selective and useful chiral selector. The separations of most of the citalopram analogue compounds reported in this work have not been reported previously. Excellent enantiomeric separations were obtained for 26 out of 27 compounds, and most of the separations were achieved within 10 min. The effects of chemical parameters such as chiral selector types, buffer types, chiral selector and buffer concentrations, buffer pH and organic modifiers on the separation were investigated. The influence of analyte structure on separation also was examined and discussed.     

Simultaneous determination of (R)- and (S)-naproxen and (R)- and (S)-6-O-desmethylnaproxen by high-performance liquid chromatography on a Chiral-AGP column.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of both enantiomers of naproxen and its metabolite 6-O-desmethylnaproxen has been developed. The separation is performed on a column containing alpha 1-acid glycoprotein as the chiral selector. The method has been used for the determination of the enantiomeric purity of the drug substance and the metabolite, and for the simultaneous determination of all four compounds in biological fluids.     

Ketopinic acid and diisoproylideneketogulonic acid as chiral ion-pair selectors in capillary electrophoresis. Enantiomeric impurity analysis of S-timolol and 1R,2S-ephedrine

1S,4R-(+)-ketopinic acid [(+)-KPA] has been introduced as a chiral selector for the separation of pharmacologically active amines by non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE). (+)-KPA gave enantioresolution for most of the compounds previously separated by 2R,3S,4R,5S-(-)-2,3:4,6-di-O-isopropylidene-2-keto-L-gulonic acid [(-)-DIKGA], but with a reversed migration order. A complete enantioresolution (Rs=4.2) was obtained for timolol, a compound that could not be resolved using (-)-DIKGA as the selector. Thus, (+)-KPA was evaluated for the enantiomeric purity determination of S-timolol. A method based on pre-concentration by transient isotachophoresis (tITP) provided a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.2% R-timolol in S-timolol samples. Because of the lack of enantioresolution of ephedrine when (+)-KPA was used as the selector, a method with (-)-DIKGA has been developed and validated for determination of the enantiomeric purity of the 1R,2S enantiomer. The method gave good precision and accuracy with an LOD (S/N=3) of 0.033% for the enantiomeric impurity 1S,2R-ephedrine.     

Enantioselective determination of the novel antidepressant mirtazapine and its active demethylated metabolite in human plasma by means of capillary electrophoresis

Mirtazapine is a recent noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressant drug. A capillary electrophoretic method has been developed for the enantioseparation and analysis of mirtazapine and its main active metabolite, N-desmethylmirtazapine, in human plasma. For method optimisation several experimental parameters were investigated, such as type and concentration of the chiral selector, buffer pH and capillary temperature. Baseline enantioseparation of the analytes was achieved in 2.5 min in a fused silica capillary (50 microm i.d.; 48.5 cm total length; 8.5 cm effective length) using carboxymethyl-beta-cyclodextrin, dissolved in a background electrolyte consisting of 50 mM phosphate buffer at pH 2.5, as the chiral selector. UV detection was set at 205 nm. A careful pre-treatment of plasma samples was developed, using solid-phase extraction with hydrophilic-lipophilic balance cartridges (60 mg, 3 mL), eluting the sample with methanol, then concentrating it 37.5 times before injection. Extraction yield values are very satisfactory, being the average 89% for mirtazapine and 73% for N-desmethylmirtazapine. Application of the method to some human plasma samples has given satisfactory results.     

Chiral capillary electrophoretic method for quantification of apomorphine

A new method for chiral determination of apomorphine enantiomers was developed and validated. Seven different neutral and charged cyclodextrins were tested for enantioselectivity on R,S-apomorphine. Sulfobutylether-beta-cyclodextrin was found to offer the best resolution, but with this system, four peaks were detected from a solution of the two enantiomers, which was suggested to be the result of different forms of the complex between the selector and apomorphine. A complexation constant was estimated for a complex of 1:1 ratio for the second and the fourth peak, whereas the other two peaks were fitted to a model ratio of 1:2 (analyte-selector). To avoid this phenomenon, hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin was then chosen as the chiral selector. An optimisation study was performed on three factors: concentration of the chiral selector, pH of the buffer, and applied voltage. Optimum conditions were: 14 mM of hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin, pH 3.0, and 16 kV. UV detection was at 200 nm. The method was validated at the chosen conditions, offering a limit of detection of 0.2 microM and a limit of quantification of 0.5 microM. The validated method was applied for the determination of R,S-apomorphine in a transport study with an in vitro cell culture model of the intestinal mucosa (Caco-2).     

In-situ grown metal organic framework synergistic system for the enantioseparation of three drugs in open tubular capillary electrochromatography

Metal organic frameworks have received great attention as the chiral stationary phase for racemic drug separation because of their fascinating structures and properties. However, the most homochiral metal organic frameworks were constructed by rare and precious chiral organic ligands. In this work, an achiral metal organic framework, together with a natural chiral selector carboxymethyl β-cyclodextrin built a synergistic separation system in the open tubular capillary electrochromatography. The novel coated columns were developed by inducing metal organic framework nanoparticles to grow on the imidazolyl functional capillary inner wall. The baseline separations of hydroxychloroquine, ofloxacin, and atenolol were achieved in the synergistic separation system. The effects of the concentration of chiral selector, pH, voltage, and the concentration of organic additives were studied. Compared with chiral selector auxiliary bare capillary, the resolutions of three drugs were remarkably improved. The relative standard deviations for the retention time of intraday (n = 6), interday (n = 6), and column-to-column were less than 2.1, 2.6, and 5.2%, respectively. These results demonstrate that affordable synergistic separation systems are prospective for racemic drug enantioseparation in capillary electrochromatography.     

On the zopiclone enantioselective binding to human albumin and plasma proteins. An electrokinetic chromatography approach

In this work, a methodology for the chiral separation of zopiclone (ZPC) by electrokinetic chromatography (EKC) using carboxymethylated-β-cyclodextrin as chiral selector has been developed and applied to the evaluation of the enantioselective binding of ZPC enantiomers to HSA and total plasma proteins. Two mathematical approaches were used to estimate protein binding (PB), affinity constants (K(1)) and enantioselectivity (ES) for both enantiomers of ZPC. Contradictory results in the literature, mainly related to plasma protein binding reported data, suggest that this is an unresolved matter and that more information is needed. Discrepancies and coincidences with previous data are highlighted.     

Azithromycin as a new chiral selector in capillary electrophoresis

In capillary electrophoresis (CE), separation of enantiomers of a chiral compound can be achieved through the chiral interactions and/or complex formation between the chiral selector and the enantiomeric analytes on leaving their diastereomeric forms with different stability constants and hence different mobilities. A great number of chiral selectors have been employed in CE and among them macrocyclic antibiotics exhibited excellent enantioselective properties towards a wide number of racemic compounds. The use of azithromycin (AZM) as a chiral selector has not been reported previously. This work reports the use of AZM as a chiral selector for the enantiomeric separations of five chiral drugs and one amino acid (tryptophan) in CE. The enantioseparation is carried out using polar organic mixtures of acetonitrile (ACN), methanol (MeOH), acetic acid and triethylamine as run buffer. The influences of the chiral selector concentration, ACN/MeOH ratio, applied voltage and capillary temperature on enantioseparation are investigated. The results show that AZM is a viable chiral selector in CE for the enantioseparation of the type of chiral drugs investigated.     

Mono‐6A‐(4‐methoxybutylamino)‐6A‐β‐cyclodextrin as a chiral selector for enantiomeric separation

A new member of the family of methoxylalkylamino monosubstituted β‐cyclodextrins, mono‐6^A‐(4‐methoxybutylamino)‐6^A‐β‐cyclodextrin, has been developed as a chiral selector for enantioseparation in capillary electrophoresis. This amino cyclodextrin exhibited good enantioselectivities for 16 model acidic racemates including three dansyl amino acids at an optimum pH of 6.0. Excellent chiral resolutions over six were obtained for α‐hydroxy acids and 2‐phenoxypropionic acids with 3.0 mM chiral selector. The good chiral recognition for α‐hydroxyl acids was attributed to inclusion complexation, electrostatic interactions, and hydrogen bonding. The hydrogen‐bonding‐enhanced chiral recognition was revealed by NMR spectroscopy. The chiral separation of acidic racemates was further improved with the addition of methanol (≤10 vol%) as an organic additive.     

Evaluation of the enantioselectivity of carbon nanoparticles‐modified chiral separation systems using dextrin as chiral selector by capillary electrokinetic chromatography

Nanoparticles (NPs) can be used as pseudostationary phases (PSPs) in EKC, which is similar to the use of micelle additives as applied in MEKC. To date, the use of NPs to enhance enantiomeric separation by EKC with β‐CD or its derivative as chiral selector has been reported only in two papers. However, to the best of our knowledge, there has been no prior effort to use NPs for achieving enantioseparation with polysaccharides as chiral selector. This paper describes for the first time the use of carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) as PSPs to modify chiral separation system employing dextrin as chiral selector for the enantioseparations of several basic drugs in capillary EKC. Three different types of CNPs, including carbogenic nanoparticles (NPs), carboxylated single‐walled carbon nanotubes, and carboxylated multiwalled carbon nanotubes, were used as running buffer additives, respectively. The potential of the PSPs and the effects of dextrin concentration, buffer pH, and buffer concentration on the enantioseparations were evaluated. Four pairs of tested enantiomers were successfully resolved in less than 15 min with the resolution values in the range of 1.41–4.52 under optimized conditions. Compared to the buffer without NPs, the introduction of NPs into the buffer enhanced the separation of the enantiomers.     

Effect of the presence of a free hydroxyl group on the enantiodiscrimination properties of cholic acid based CSPs bearing 2-naphthylcarbamate and 3,5-dinitrophenylcarbamate moieties in the HPLC resolution of racemic compounds

Two new chiral selectors, obtained by derivatizing two of the three hydroxyl groups of cholic acid with 2-naphthylisocyanate and 3,5-dinitrophenylisocyanate, have been prepared and linked to silica gel to obtain chiral stationary phases (CSPs) for the HPLC separation of enantiomers. The enantiodiscriminating capability of the two CSPs has been compared to that of the analogous CSP obtained from an exhaustively derivatized cholic acid based selector, in order to establish the effect of the presence of a free hydroxyl group on the enantiodiscrimination properties of this kind of selector. The chromatographic results demonstrate that the enantioselectivity of these selectors strongly depends on the position of the hydroxyl group on the cholestanic backbone.     

Enantiomeric separation of clenbuterol by transient isotachophoresis-capillary zone electrophoresis-UV detection new optimization technique for transient isotachophoresis

A method for the in-line preconcentration and enantioseparation of clenbuterol by transient isotachophoresis-capillary zone electrophoresis-UV absorbance detection (transient ITP-CZE-UV) has been developed. It implies the use of dimethyl-beta-cyclodextrin as chiral selector and the application of a hydrodynamic counterflow during the ITP step. ITP is used to focus the sample constituents prior to CE whereas a counterpressure counterbalances the electrophoretic migration of the compounds. The sample is then focused and kept stationary in the proximity of the capillary inlet before CZE separation, leading to an extended-volume ITP-CZE system. A new strategy for the fast optimization of the counterpressure has been developed which implies the measurement of the hydrodynamic and electrophoretic velocities of the analyte during ITP. The in-line preconcentration and enantioseparation of clenbuterol selected as model compound was optimized using this method. Salbutamol was chosen as internal reference in order to check the reproducibility of the method. A 173-nl volume of aqueous ample solution was injected which implies an improvement of the injection volume of about 16 and a resolution of 4.8 was obtained for the clenbuterol enantiomers. A concentration detection limit of 10(-6) mol/l was readily achieved for clenbuterol and salbutamol using only 3 min ITP preconcentration in in-line counterflow transient ITP-CZE-UV. Thanks to its fast optimization, the method is applicable to any enantioseparation by means of only five very short preliminary measurements.     

Effect of alkylimidazolium substituents on enantioseparation ability of single-isomer alkylimidazolium-beta-cyclodextrin derivatives in capillary electrophoresis

A family of 6-mono(3-alkylimidazolium)-β-cyclodextrins with one primary hydroxyl group replaced by an alkylimidazolium cation has been developed. The effect of alkyl substitutents on the enantioresolution ability of these single-isomer cyclodextrins towards dansyl amino acids has been studied by capillary electrophoresis. Systematical investigations on the effect of buffer pH and selector concentration on the enatioseparation show that chiral selectors with a shorter alkyl chain (R = C_nH_2n+1, n ≤ 4) presented more powerful chiral recognition ability. These newly introduced single-isomer β-cyclodextrin derivatives proved to be effective chiral selectors for most selected dansyl amino acids at low buffer pH (e.g. pH 5.0) with selector concentration no less than 3 mM. The apparent complex stability constants between alkylimidazolium β-CDs and dansyl amino acids were also theoretically determined by using the mobility difference model proposed by Wren and Rowe. The side alkyl chains from both dansyl amino acids and alkylimidazolium β-CDs displayed significant effect on the apparent complex stability constants. Both the optimum selector concentrations calculated according to the model, however, were much lower than the experimental values giving the maximum chiral resolution of enantiomers.