Computer-aided molecular modeling study of enantioseparation of iodiconazole and structurally related triadimenol analogues by capillary electrophoresis: Chiral recognition mechanism and mathematical model for predicting chiral separation

Chiral separation of iodiconazole, a new antifungal drug, and 12 new structurally related triadimenol analogues had been developed by capillary electrophoresis (CE) using hydroxypropyl-γ-cyclodextrin (HP-γ-CD) as the chiral selector. The effect of structural features of analytes on Δt and R_s was studied under the optimum separation conditions. Using molecular docking technique and binding energy calculations, the inclusion process between HP-γ-CD and enantiomers was investigated and chiral recognition mechanisms were discussed. The results suggest that hydrogen bonding between fluorine at position 4 of the phenyl group beside the chiral carbon and the hydroxyl group on the HP-γ-CD rim and face to face π–π interactions between two phenyl rings highly contributed to the enantiorecognition process between HP-γ-CD and iodiconazole. The N-methyl group beside chiral carbon also played an important role in enantiomeric separation. Additionally, the big difference in binding energy (ΔΔE) highly contributed to good separation in the presence of HP-γ-CD chiral selector, which may be a helpful initial guide for chiral selector selection and predicting the result of enantioseparation. Furthermore, the new mathematical equation established based on the results of molecular mechanics calculations exhibited good capability in predicting chiral separation of these triadimenol analogues using HP-γ-CD mediated CE.     

Study of the enantioseparation capability of chiral dual system based on chondroitin sulfate C in CE

It has been reported that chiral dual system is able to improve the enantioseparation of enantiomers in many cases. Currently, the dual systems involved in CE chiral separation are mostly dual CDs systems, and the polysaccharides‐based chiral dual system was reported in only one paper. To the best of our knowledge, the use of chondroitin sulfate C (CSC)‐based dual system for enantiomeric separation has not been reported previously. Herein, four CSC‐based chiral dual systems, namely CSC/glycogen, CSC/chondroitin sulfate A (CSA), CSC/hydroxypropyl‐β‐CD (HP‐β‐CD), as well as CSC/β‐CD (β‐CD), were evaluated for the first time for their enantioseparation capability by CE in this paper. During the course of the work, the influences of chiral selector concentration and buffer pH values on enantioseparation in dual systems were systematically investigated. Under the optimized conditions, the dual system consisting of CSC and glycogen exhibited better separations toward nefopam, duloxetine, sulconazole, atenolol, laudanosine, and cetirizine enantiomers compared to the single CSC or glycogen system. The combination of CSC and HP‐β‐CD improved the separation of amlodipine and chlorphenamine enantiomers. However, no synergistic effect was observed in the CSC/CSA and CSC/β‐CD systems.     

New single isomer negatively charged β‐cyclodextrin derivatives as chiral selectors in capillary electrophoresis

To improve resolution power of chiral selector and enantiomeric peak efficiency in CE, single isomer negatively charged β‐CD derivatives, mono(6‐deoxy‐6‐sulfoethylthio)‐β‐CD (SET‐β‐CD) bearing one negative charge and mono[6‐deoxy‐6‐(6‐sulfooxy‐5,5‐bis‐sulfooxymethyl)hexylthio]‐β‐CD (SMHT‐β‐CD) carrying three negative charges, were synthesized. The structure of these two β‐CD derivatives was confirmed by ¹H NMR and MS. SET‐β‐CD and SMHT‐β‐CD successfully resolved the enantiomers of several basic model compounds. SMHT‐β‐CD provided for a significantly greater enantioseparation than SET‐β‐CD at lower concentrations. This appears to be due to the higher binding affinity of SMHT‐β‐CD to the model compounds and the wider separation window resulting from an increased countercurrent mobility of the selector. Overall, the new chiral selectors provided enantioseparations with high peak efficiency while avoiding peak distortion due to polydispersive and electrodispersive effects. The information obtained from an apparent binding constant study suggested that the enantioseparation of the model compounds followed the predictions of charged resolving agent migration model and that the observed degree of enantioseparation difference were due to the magnitude of differences in both enantiomer‐chiral selector binding affinities (ΔK) and the mobilities of the complexed enantiomers (Δμ_c).     

A study on the chiral recognition mechanism of enantioseparation of adrenaline and its analogues using capillary electrophoresis

The purpose of this paper was to study the chiral recognition mechanism of enantioseparation of adrenaline and its analogues using capillary electrophoresis. The enantiomeric separation of adrenaline and its analogues has been developed using beta-cyclodextrins as the chiral selectors. All the tested compounds were separated under the same experimental conditions to study the chiral recognition mechanisms, using a low-pH buffer (50 mM Tris buffer at pH 2.5). By means of molecular docking the inclusion course between beta-cyclodextrins and enantiomers was investigated and thus the interaction energy was obtained by molecular mechanics calculations. The results suggest that the difference in interaction energy for the side chain part is most likely responsible for enantiomeric separation.     

Investigation of the enantioselectivity of tetramethylammonium‐lactobionate chiral ionic liquid based dual selector systems toward basic drugs in capillary electrophoresis

Recently, chiral ionic liquids (CILs) have received increasing interest in chiral separation by CE. Nevertheless, the lack of deep perception of the specific mechanism about CILs in CE for enantioseparation still perplexes a legion of researchers, despite the strenuous efforts. In this paper, a lactobionic acid based ionic liquid, tetramethylammonium‐lactobionate (TMA‐LA) was applied for the first time in CE to establish dual selector system with clindamycin phosphate (CP) for enantiomeric separation. Compared to single CP system or single TMA‐LA system significantly improved separations of seven tested rameric drugs (propranolol, nefopam, citalopram, chlorphenamine, metoprolol, bisoprolol, and esmolol) were observed in the dual selector systems. Several crucial parameters such as type and proportion of organic modifier, buffer composition and pH, and concentration of TMA‐LA/CP were systematically investigated to achieve satisfied enantioseparation. Meanwhile, molecular modeling was applied to demonstrate the chiral recognition mechanism of the TMA‐LA/CP dual‐selector separation system using the molecular docking software Autodock, which well supported the experimental results. The existence of TMA‐LA/CP complex may give rise to a higher discriminatory ability against the enantiomers, indicating the reason of improved separation in TMA‐LA/CP system. All the influence factors evaluated by means of Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) to research the influences on the chiral separation system.     

Comparative analysis of the full set of methylated β‐cyclodextrins as chiral selectors in capillary electrophoresis

The chiral separation ability of the full library of methylated‐β‐cyclodextrins towards pharmacologically significant racemic drugs including basic compounds was studied by chiral CE. The syntheses of all the methylated, single isomer β‐cyclodextrins were revised and optimized and the aqueous solubility of the derivatives was unambiguously established. The three most relevant commercially available methylated isomeric mixtures were also included in the screening, so a total of ten various methylated CDs were investigated. The effects of the selector concentration on the enantiorecognition properties at acidic pH were investigated. Among the dimethylated β‐cyclodextrins, the heptakis (2,6‐di‐O‐methyl)‐β‐cyclodextrin isomer (2,6‐DIMEB) resulted to be the most versatile chiral selector. Terbutaline was selected as a model compound for the in‐depth investigation of host‐guest enantiodiscrimination ability. The association constants between the two terbutaline enantiomers and 2,6‐DIMEB were determined in order to support that the enantioseparation is driven by differences is host‐guest binding. The migration order of the enantiomers was confirmed by performing spiking experiments with the pure enantiomers. 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy was applied to the 2,3‐, and 2,6‐DIMEB/terbutaline systems to rationalize at molecular level the different enantioseparation ability of the dimethylated β‐cyclodextrin selectors.     

Capillary electrophoretic enantioseparation of m‐nisoldipine using two different β‐cyclodextrins

The methods for the enantioseparation of m‐nisoldipine, a new 1,4‐dihydropyridine calcium ion antagonist, were developed. The elaborated methods of m‐nisoldipine enantiomers separation were successfully performed using an anionic CD–sulfobutyl ether‐β‐CD (SBE‐β‐CD) or carboxymethyl‐β‐CD as chiral selector. However, the results indicated that SBE‐β‐CD was a better chiral selector for enantioseparation of the neutral m‐nisoldipine. Furthermore, comparing the two SBE‐β‐CDs, the derivative with a higher degree of substitution (DS) of 7.0 induced better enantioresolution than the one with low DS (4.0). In addition, possible chiral recognition mechanisms of dihydropyridines were discussed.     

Enhancement of enantioselectivity in chiral capillary electrophoresis using hydroxypropyl‐beta‐cyclodextrin as chiral selector under molecular crowding conditions induced by dextran or dextrin

Molecular crowding is a new approach to enhance the retention properties and selectivity of molecularly imprinted polymers. In this work, this concept was first applied to chiral CE to enhance its enantioselectivity. A model system, enantioseparation of salbutamol using hydroxypropyl‐beta‐cyclodextrin as chiral selector in the presence of dextran or dextrin as crowding‐inducing agents, was chosen to demonstrate its potency. Some parameters, especially the concentration of crowding‐inducing agents and cyclodextrins were investigated intensively. Moreover, based on fluorescence spectroscopy and affinity CE, it was found that the presence of crowding‐inducing agents could promote the association of enantiomers with cyclodextrins and intensify the interacting differences of two enantiomers with cyclodextrins. As a result, the essential concentration of cyclodextrins to make the enantiomers reach baseline separation was significantly decreased with the aid of molecular crowding. This study shows that molecular crowding is an effective strategy to enhance the enantioselectivity of cyclodextrin in chiral CE.     

Separation of brombuterol enantiomers in capillary electrophoresis with cyclodextrin‐type chiral selectors and investigation of structure of selector‐selectand complexes using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

The major goal of this study was to determine the affinity pattern of brombuterol (BB) enantiomers toward various cyclodextrins (CD) and to evaluate the potential of NMR spectroscopy for understanding fine mechanisms of interactions between CDs and BB enantiomers. Separation of BB enantiomers was performed in a fused‐silica capillary using a phosphate buffer, pH 2.5, at the room temperature in the normal polarity mode. It was shown once again that CE in combination with NMR spectroscopy represents a very sensitive tool for studies of affinity patterns and structure of CD complexes with chiral guests. Although opposite affinity patterns of BB enantiomers were observed toward native β‐ and γ‐CDs, no significant differences between the structures of the complexes of these two CDs with BB were detected by NMR spectroscopy. In contrary to this, the opposite affinity pattern of BB enantiomers toward β‐CD and its two sulfated derivatives, heptakis (2,3‐O‐diacetyl‐6‐sulfo)‐β‐CD (HDAS‐β‐CD) and heptakis (2‐O‐methyl‐3,6‐di‐O‐sulfo)‐β‐CD (HMDS‐β‐CD) was associated with major differences in the structure of the complexes. In addition, it was shown again that HMDS‐β‐CD provides separation of enantiomers without formation of inclusion‐type complex with the chiral analyte.     

Designed combination of chiral selectors for adjustment of enantioseparation selectivity in capillary electrophoresis.

In this study an attempt has been made to explain the reasons for changing the enantioseparation selectivity in some dual cyclodextrin (CD) systems compared to the use of single chiral selectors in capillary electrophoresis (CE). An explanation for selectivity changes is proposed based on the effect of the chiral selector on the mobility of the analyte. In order to support the proposed mechanism, several dual systems were designed on the basis of the known recognition pattern of enantiomers for individual CDs. In most cases the separation selectivity could be adjusted in a designed way. There was no experimental evidence for simultaneous binding of a given chiral analyte with both chiral selectors or of chiral recognition of an analyte complex with one CD by another CD.     

Enantioseparation and molecular modeling study of eight psychoactive drugs on a coated polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phase

The enantioseparation of eight psychoactive drugs has been firstly performed on a coated cellulose-based chiral stationary phase (Chiralcel OJ-H). To obtain optimum separation conditions, the influences of alcohol modifiers and basic/acidic additives have been studied. As a result, except for the partial separation of oxybutynin enantiomers, the other seven drug enantiomers, including mirtazapine, sulpiride, promethazine, citalopram, oxazepam, donepezil, and cyamemazine, have been completely separated. Additionally, for gaining a better insight into the chiral recognition mechanisms, molecular docking was carried out using the Autodock software. Herein, binding energy and conformations of the chiral stationary phase complexes were provided, and it was found that the distinction in enantiomeric conformation determined the number and strength of intermolecular interactions between analytes and chiral stationary phase which resulted in the difference in binding energies of two enantiomers, and ultimately led to the different migration. These modeling results were in accordance with the observed enantioseparation results in high performance liquid chromatography experiments. At last, chiral separation mechanisms have been discussed in detail, and it has been confirmed that hydrogen bond, π–π, hydrophobic interactions, and some special interactions synergistically contributed to the enantioseparation of psychoactive drugs.     

Liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry enantioseparation of pomalidomide on cyclodextrin‐bonded chiral stationary phases and the elucidation of the chiral recognition mechanisms by NMR spectroscopy and molecular modeling

A sensitive and validated liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry method was developed for the enantioseparation of the racemic mixture of pomalidomide, a novel, second‐generation immunomodulatory drug, using β‐cyclodextrin‐bonded stationary phases. Four cyclodextrin columns (β‐, hydroxypropyl‐β‐, carboxymethyl‐β‐, and sulfobutyl‐β‐cyclodextrin) were screened and the effects of eluent composition, flow rate, temperature, and organic modifier on enantioseparation were studied. Optimized parameters, offering baseline separation (resolution = 2.70 ± 0.02) were the following: β‐cyclodextrin stationary phase, thermostatted at 15°C, and mobile phase consisting of methanol/0.1% acetic acid 10:90 v/v, delivered with 0.8 mL/min flow rate. For the optimized parameter at multiple reaction monitoring mode 274.1–201.0 transition with 20 eV collision energy and 100 V fragmentor voltage the limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 0.75 and 2.00 ng/mL, respectively. Since enantiopure standards were not available, elution order was determined upon comparison of the circular dichroism signals of the separated pomalidomide enantiomers with that of enantiopure thalidomide. The mechanisms underlying the chiral discrimination between the enantiomers were also investigated. Pomalidomide‐β‐cyclodextrin inclusion complex was characterized using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and molecular modeling. The thermodynamic aspects of chiral separation were also studied.     

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.     

Simultaneous chiral separation of triadimefon and triadimenol by sulfated beta-cyclodextrin-mediated capillary electrophoresis

Enantiomeric separation of two triazole fungicides, triadimefon and triadimenol, was investigated in sulfated beta-cyclodextrin (sulfated beta-CD)-mediated capillary electrophoresis (CE) systems. It was found that, at pH 2-4, sulfated beta-CD exhibited strong chiral recognition towards both triadimefon and triadimenol. The enantiorecognition was believed to result from the multiple interactions between sulfated beta-CD and the analytes, which included inclusion effect, electrostatic interaction, and hydrogen bonding. Under optimal conditions (phosphate buffer with 2% sulfated beta-CD, pH 2.5), simultaneous resolution of all chiral isomers of triadimefon and triadimenol was achieved in less than half an hour. In conjunction with solvent extraction and subsequent enrichment by solid-phase extraction (SPE), this new enantioseparation method was applied successfully in the study of stereoselectivity associated with the biotransformation of triadimefon to triadimenol by soil microorganisms. The present methodology was superior to the commonly adopted chiral gas chromatography (GC) approach in that a very mild procedure was involved from sample extraction to the ultimate chiral separation. Thus, the disturbance of the enantiomeric distribution patterns of the original soil samples by heat stress was an unlikely scenario. Furthermore, it was discovered that, owing to the unique selectivity of the present separation strategy, there was virtually no interference from the soil matrix, which led to improvements in both sensitivity and selectivity in real sample determination.     

Enantioseparation of chiral benzimidazole derivatives by electrokinetic chromatography using sulfated cyclodextrins

Baseline separation of 18 new substituted benzimidazole derivatives, potent AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK) activators, with one chiral center, was achieved by CD‐EKC using sulfated and highly sulfated CDs (SCDs and HS‐CDs) as chiral selectors. The influence of the type and concentration of the chiral selectors on the enantioseparations was investigated. The SCDs exhibit a very high enantioselectivity power since they allow excellent enantiomeric resolutions compared to those obtained with the neutral CDs. The enantiomers were resolved with analysis times around 6 min using 25 mM phosphate buffer at pH 2.5 containing either β‐S‐CD, HS‐β‐CD, HS‐γ‐CD (3 or 4% w/v) at 25°C, with a voltage of 20 kV. The apparent association constants of the inclusion complexes were calculated. The study of the solute structure‐enantioseparation relationships seems to show the high contribution of the interactions between the solutes phenyl ring and the CDs to the enantiorecognition process. The optimized method was briefly validated (LOD less than 1%) and the purity of enantiomers of compound 3 was determined. The enantiomer migration shows reversal order depending on the kind of CD.     

Evaluation of sulfated maltodextrin as a novel anionic chiral selector for the enantioseparation of basic chiral drugs by capillary electrophoresis

Introducing a new class of chiral selectors is an interesting work and this issue is still one of the hot topics in separation science and chirality. In this study, for the first time, sulfated maltodextrin (MD) was synthesized as a new anionic chiral selector and then it was successfully applied for the enantioseparation of five basic drugs (amlodipine, hydroxyzine, fluoxetine, tolterodine, and tramadol) as model chiral compounds using CE. This chiral selector has two recognition sites: a helical structure and a sulfated group which contribute to three corresponding driving forces; inclusion complexation, electrostatic interaction, and hydrogen binding. Under the optimized condition (buffer solution: 50 mM phosphate (pH 3.0) and 2% w/v sulfated MD; applied voltage: 18 kV; temperature: 20°C), baseline enantioseparation was observed for all mentioned chiral drugs. When instead of sulfated MD neutral MD was used under the same condition, no enantioseparation was observed which means the resolution power of sulfated MD is higher than neutral MD due to the electrostatic interaction between sulfated groups and protonated chiral drugs. Also, the countercurrent mobility of negatively charged MD (sulfated MD) allows more interactions between the chiral selector and chiral drugs and this in turn results in a successful resolution for the enantiomers. Furthermore, a higher concentration of neutral MD (approximately five times) is necessary to achieve the equivalent resolution compared with the negatively charged MD.     

Carboxymethyl β‐cyclodextrin as chiral selector in capillary electrophoresis: Enantioseparation of 16 basic chiral drugs and its chiral recognition mechanism associated with drugs' structural features

Herein we present the enantioseparation of 10 cardiovascular agents and six bronchiectasis drugs including propranolol, carteolol, metoprolol, atenolol, pindolol, esmolol, bisoprolol, bevantolol, arotinolol, sotalol, clenbuterol, procaterol, bambuterol, tranterol, salbutamol and terbutaline sulfate using carboxymethyl‐β ‐cyclodextrin (CM‐β ‐CD) as chiral selector. To our knowledge, there is no literature about using CM‐β ‐CD for separating carteolol, esmolol, bisoprolol, bevantolol, arotinolol, procaterol, bambuterol and tranterol. During the course of work, changes in pH, CM‐β ‐CD concentration, buffer type and concentration were studied in relation to chiral resolution. Excellent enantiomeric separations were obtained for all 16 compounds, especially for procaterol. An impressive resolution value, up to 17.10, was obtained. In particular, most of them achieved rapid separations within 20 min. Given the fact that enantioseparation results rely on analytes' structural characters, the possible separation mechanisms were discussed. In addition, in order to obtain faster separation for propranolol enantiomers in practical application, the effective length of capillary was innovatively shortened from 45 to 30 cm. After the validation, the method was successfully applied to the enantiomeric purity determination of propranolol in the formulation of drug substances.     

The Use of Dual Cyclodextrin Chiral Selector Systems in the Enantioseparation of Pharmaceuticals by Capillary Electrophoresis: An Overview

Cyclodextrin (CD) derivatives are the most efficient and frequently used chiral selectors (CSs) in capillary electrophoresis (CE). There are situations when the use of a single CD as CS is not enough to obtain efficient chiral discrimination of the enantiomers; in these cases, sometimes this problem can be resolved using a dual CD system. The use of dual CD systems can often dramatically enhance enantioseparation selectivity and can be applied for the separation of many analytes of pharmaceutical interest for which enantioseparation by CE with another CS systems can be problematic. Usually in a dual CD system an anionic CD is used together with a neutral one, but there are situations when the use of a cationic CD with a neutral one or the use of two neutral CDs or even two ionized CDs can be an efficient solution. In the current review we present general aspects of the use of dual CD systems in the analysis of pharmaceutical substances. Several examples of applications of the use of dual CD systems in the analysis of pharmaceuticals are selected and discussed. Theoretical aspects regarding the separation of enantiomers through simultaneous interaction with the two CSs are also explained. Finally, advantages, disadvantages, potential and new direction in this chiral analysis field are highlighted.     

Effect of temperature on the enantioselectivity of basic analytes using CE with sulfated β‐cyclodextrins

Twelve basic analytes, including ephedrine and its structurally related compounds, were used to study the influence of capillary temperature on enantioselectivity in CE enantioseparations under reversed polarity mode using sulfated β‐CD (S‐β‐CD) as chiral selectors. All of the effective mobility changes of (+)‐enantiomers between 35 and 20°C were higher than those of (–)‐enantiomers whosoever enantioselectivity increased or decreased with an increase in temperature. However, the unusual temperature effect that enantioselectivity was increased with an increase of temperature was observed for the compounds with hydroxyl substitution on phenyl ring and had relationship with the molecular structures. With performing NMR studies on the selected selector‐analyte complexes, the results led to a deeper understanding of the chiral discrimination process. Inspection of the complexation‐induced chemical shifts (CICS) of the enantiomers showed that the phenyl ring sits deeply and slantways in the cavity of S‐β‐CD and alkyl chain pointed out of the wider rim of S‐β‐CD with ion–ion and hydrogen bond interactions between analytes and S‐β‐CD.     

High-performance chiral separation of fourteen triazole fungicides by sulfated beta-cyclodextrin-mediated capillary electrophoresis

In this paper, sulfated beta-cyclodextrin-mediated capillary electrophoresis (CE) is evaluated as a new approach for the chiral separation of triazole-type fungicides. The 14 fungicides investigated were bitertanol, cyproconazole, difenoconazole, diniconazole, flutriafol, hexaconazole, myclobutanil, paclobutrazol, penconazole, propiconazole, tebuconazole, tetraconazole, triadimefon and triadimenol. Under the optimal conditions, excellent enantioseparation was achieved for all the 14 fungicides, including those fungicides containing two chiral centers. To our knowledge, this is the only system to date that offers outstanding enantiodiscrimination towards all triazole-type fungicides. The impact of the molecular structures of the triazole compounds on their migration behavior was studied. Similar to other chemical systems involving host-guest complexation, the interaction between sulfated beta-cyclodextrin and the triazole compounds was found to be affected by a variety of factors, including electrostatic force, hydrogen bonding, steric effect and hydrophobicity. These factors, coupled with the countercurrent electroosmotic flow (EOF), were believed to be the major forces behind the exceptional chiral selectivity.