Development of new chiral ligand exchange capillary electrophoresis system with amino acid ionic liquids ligands and its application in studying the kinetics of l-amino acid oxidase

New kinds of amino acid ionic liquids (AAILs) with pyridinium as cations and l-lysine (l-Lys) as anion have been developed as the available chiral ligands coordinated with Zn(II) in chiral ligand-exchange capillary electrophoresis (CLE-CE). Four kinds of AAILs, including [1-ethylpyridinium][l-lysine], 1-butylpyridinium][l-lysine], [1-hexylpyridinium][l-lysine] and 1-[octylpyridinium][l-lysine], were successfully synthesized and characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry. Compared with other AAILs, the best chiral separation of Dns-d, l-amino acids could be achieved when [1-ethylpyridinium][l-lysine] was chosen as the chiral ligand. It has been found that after investigating the influence of key factors on the separation efficiency, such as pH of buffer solution, the ratio of Zn(II) to ligand and complex concentration, eight pairs of Dns-d, l-AAs enantiomers could be baseline separated and three pairs were partly separated under the optimum conditions. The proposed CLE-CE method also exhibited favorable quantitative analysis property of Dns-d, l-Met with good linearity (r² = 0.998) and favorable repeatability (RSD ≤ 1.5%). Furthermore, the CLE-CE system was applied in investigating the kinetic contents of l-amino acid oxidase, which implied that the proposed system has the potential in studying the enzymatic reaction mechanism.     

Enantioselective capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry of amino acids in cerebrospinal fluid using a chiral derivatizing agent and volatile surfactant

The sensitivity of coupled enantioselective capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry (CE-MS) of amino acids (AAs) is often hampered by the chiral selectors in the background electrolyte (BGE). A new method is presented in which the use of a chiral selector is circumvented by employing (+)-1-(9-fluorenyl)ethyl chloroformate (FLEC) as chiral AA derivatizing agent and ammonium perfluorooctanoate (APFO) as a volatile pseudostationary phase for separation of the formed diastereomers. Efficient AA derivatization with FLEC was completed within 10 min. Infusion experiments showed that the APFO concentration hardly affects the MS response of FLEC-AAs and presents significantly less ion suppression than equal concentrations of ammonium acetate. The effect of the pH and APFO concentration of the BGE and the capillary temperature were studied in order to achieve optimized enantioseparation. Optimization of CE-MS parameters, such as sheath-liquid composition and flow rate, ESI and MS settings was performed in order to prevent analyte fragmentation and achieve sensitive detection. Selective detection and quantification of 14 chiral proteinogenic AAs was achieved with chiral resolution between 1.2 and 8.6, and limits of detection ranging from 130 to 630 nM injected concentration. Aspartic acid and glutamic acid were detected, but not enantioseparated. The optimized method was applied to the analysis of chiral AAs in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Good linearity (R² > 0.99) and acceptable peak area and electrophoretic mobility repeatability (RSDs below 21% and 2.4%, respectively) were achieved for the chiral proteinogenic AAs, with sensitivity and chiral resolution mostly similar to obtained for standard solutions. Next to l-AAs, endogenous levels of d-serine and d-glutamine could be measured in CSF revealing enantiomeric ratios of 4.8%–8.0% and 0.34%–0.74%, respectively, and indicating the method's potential for the analysis of low concentrations of d-AAs in presence of abundant l-AAs.     

Enantioseparation of dansyl amino acids by ligand‐exchange capillary electrophoresis with zinc(II)‐L‐phenylalaninamide complex

A novel method of chiral ligand‐exchange CE was developed with L ‐amino acylamides as a chiral ligand and zinc(II) as a central ion. It has been demonstrated that these chiral complexes, such as Zn(II)‐L ‐alaninamide, Zn(II)‐L ‐prolinamide, and Zn(II)‐L ‐phenylalaninamide, are suitable for use as chiral selectors for the enantioseparation of either individual pair of or mixed dansyl amino acids. The optimal separation running buffer consisted of 5 mM ammonium acetate, 100 mM boric acid, 4 mM ZnSO₄·7 H₂O, and 8 mM L ‐amino acylamides at pH 8.2. The experiments showed that apart from the effect of the concentration of the complexes on the resolution and the migration time, the buffer pH also had a sharp influence on resolution. The employed chiral ligands exhibited different enantioselectivities and enantiomer migration orders. D ‐Amino acids migrate faster than L ‐amino acids when Zn(II)‐L ‐alaninamide and Zn(II)‐L ‐phenylalaninamide are used as chiral selectors, but it was observed that the migration order is reversed when Zn(II)‐L ‐prolinamide is used as the chiral selector. Furthermore, the amount of dansylated amino acids is found to be highly dependent on the labeling temperature.     

Enantioseparation of dansyl amino acids and dipeptides by chiral ligand exchange capillary electrophoresis based on Zn(II)-l-hydroxyproline complexes coordinating with γ-cyclodextrins

A chiral ligand exchange capillary electrophoresis (CLE-CE) method using Zn(II) as the central ion and l-4-hydroxyproline as the chiral ligand coordinating with γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD) was developed for the enantioseparation of amino acids (AAs) and dipeptides. The effects of various separation parameters, including the pH of the running buffer, the ratio of Zn(II) to l-4-hydroxyproline, the concentration of complexes and cyclodextrins (CDs) were systematically investigated. After optimization, it has been found that eight pairs of labeled AAs and six pairs of labeled dipeptides could be baseline-separated with a running electrolyte of 100.0 mM boric acid, 5.0 mM ammonium acetate, 3.0 mM Zn(II), 6.0 mM l-hydroxyproline and 4.0 mM γ-CD at pH 8.2. The quantitation of AAs and dipeptides was conducted and good linearity (r² ≥ 0.997) and favorable repeatability (RSD ≤ 3.6%) were obtained. Furthermore, the proposed method was applied in determining the enantiomeric purity of AAs and dipeptides. Meanwhile, the possible enantiorecognition mechanism based on the synergistic effect of chiral metal complexes and γ-CD was explored and discussed briefly.     

Amino Acid Ionic Liquids as Chiral Ligands in Ligand‐Exchange Chiral Separations

Recently, amino acid ionic liquids (AAILs) have attracted much research interest. In this paper, we present the first application of AAILs in chiral separation based on the chiral ligand exchange principle. By using 1‐alkyl‐3‐methylimidazolium L ‐proline (L ‐Pro) as a chiral ligand coordinated with copper(II), four pairs of underivatized amino acid enantiomers—dl ‐phenylalanine (dl ‐Phe), dl ‐histidine (dl ‐His), dl ‐tryptophane (dl ‐Trp), and dl ‐tyrosine (dl ‐Tyr)—were successfully separated in two major chiral separation techniques, HPLC and capillary electrophoresis (CE), with higher enantioselectivity than conventionally used amino acid ligands (resolution (R_s)=3.26–10.81 for HPLC; R_s=1.34–4.27 for CE). Interestingly, increasing the alkyl chain length of the AAIL cation remarkably enhanced the enantioselectivity. It was inferred that the alkylmethylimidazolium cations and L ‐Pro form ion pairs on the surface of the stationary phase or on the inner surface of the capillary. The ternary copper complexes with L ‐Pro are consequently attached to the support surface, thus inducing an ion‐exchange type of retention for the dl ‐enantiomers. Therefore, the AAIL cation plays an essential role in the separation. This work demonstrates that AAILs are good alternatives to conventional amino acid ligands for ligand‐exchange‐based chiral separation. It also reveals the tremendous application potential of this new type of task‐specific ILs.     

Determination of sodium benzoate by chiral ligand exchange CE based on its inhibitory activity in D-amino acid oxidase mediated oxidation of D-serine

A novel quantitative approach for the determination of sodium benzoate (SB) was proposed by the kinetic study about its competitive inhibitory efficiency to D-amino acid oxidase (DAAO) activity with a chiral ligand exchange capillary electrophoresis (CE) method, in which the Zn(II)-L-prolinamide complex was chosen as a novel chiral selector. After the optimization of buffer pH and the chiral selector concentration this chiral ligand exchange CE method was employed to determine labeled D,L-Serine with good linearity (r(2)≥0.995), efficient recovery (95.6-100.9%) and remarkable reproducibility (RSD≤1.2%). This chiral separation method was further used to observe DAAO activity through the determination of D-Serine concentration variation after being incubated with DAAO and obtain the sigmoidal inhibitory curve of SB to DAAO activity. The ascending part of this inhibitory curve was linearly fitted in a limited range for SB from 2.0 to 200 μM with an appropriate coefficient of determination (R(2)=0.990). The linearity was then validated to be a promising method for the analysis of SB with the standout merits of high selectivity and adjustable detection range. Furthermore, this proposed method was used for the pharmacokinetics study of SB.     

Chiral separation of dansyl amino acids by ligand exchange capillary electrochromatography in a low molecular weight organogel

Chiral electroseparation is demonstrated, for the first time, by a low molecular weight organogel filled capillary. Five pairs of dansylated amino acids were separated by copper ligand exchange on a trans-(1S,2S)-1,2-bis-(dodecylamido) cyclohexane (1) gel in methanol. Low molecular weight organogels are emerging materials that form stable, fibrillar, thermoreversible and thixotropic gels without covalent bonding of their monomeric building blocks. The dependence of chiral resolution and complex formation stability on the pH*, the ratio between copper and the D-valine selector, as well as other parameters were investigated revealing trends that were unparalleled in previously reports on copper ligand exchange of dansylated amino acids. These observations were explained in view of a simple stacking model of (1) and the difference in axial ligation of the amide carbonyl backbone of the gel to the dansyl D- or L-amino acid:D-valine:copper ternary complexes.     

Chiral ligand exchange countercurrent chromatography: Enantioseparation of amino acids

This work deals with the enantioseparation of α‐amino acids by chiral ligand exchange high‐speed countercurrent chromatography using N‐n‐dodecyl‐l ‐hydroxyproline as a chiral ligand and copper(II) as a transition metal ion. A biphasic solvent system composed of n‐hexane/n‐butanol/aqueous phase with different volume ratios was selected for each α‐amino acid. The enantioseparation conditions were optimized by enantioselective liquid–liquid extractions, in which the main influence factors, including type of chiral ligand, concentration of chiral ligand and transition metal ion, separation temperature, and pH of the aqueous phase, were investigated for racemic phenylalanine. Altogether, we tried to enantioseparate 15 racemic α‐amino acids by the analytical countercurrent chromatography, of which only five of them could be successfully enantioseparated. Different elution sequence for phenylalanine enantiomer was observed compared with traditional liquid chromatography and the proposed interactions between chiral ligand, transition metal ion (Cu²⁺), and enantiomer are discussed.     

Chiral CE of aromatic amino acids by ligand-exchange with zinc(II)-L-lysine complex

A novel method of chiral ligand-exchange CE was developed with either L- or D-lysine (Lys) as a chiral ligand and zinc(II) as a central ion. This type of chiral complexes was explored for the first time to efficiently separate either individual pairs of or mixed aromatic amino acid enantiomers. Using a running buffer of 5 mM ammonium acetate, 100 mM boric acid, 3 mM ZnSO(4) x 7H(2)O and 6 mM L-Lys at pH 7.6, unlabeled D,L-tryptophan, D,L-phenylalanine, and D,L-tyrosine were well separated, giving a chiral resolution of up to 7.09. The best separation was obtained at a Lys-to-zinc ratio of 2:1, zinc concentration of 2-4 mM and running buffer pH 7.6. The buffer pH was determined to have a strong influence on resolution, while buffer composition and concentration impacted on both the resolution and peak shape. Boric acid with some ammonium acetate was an adoptable buffer system, and some additives like ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid capable of destroying the complex should be avoided. Fine-tuning of the chiral resolution and elution order was achieved by regulating the ratio of L-Lys to D-Lys; i.e. the resolution increased from zero to its highest value as the ratio ascended from 1:0 to 1:infinitive, and L-isomers eluted before or after D-isomers in excessive D- or L-Lys, respectively.     

l‐Lysine‐derived ionic liquids as chiral ligands of Zn(II) complexes used in ligand‐exchange CE

Amino acid ionic liquids (AAILs) with l ‐lysine (l ‐Lys) as anion were synthesized and applied as new chiral ligands in Zn(II) complexes for chiral ligand‐exchange CE. After effective optimization, baseline enantioseparation of seven pairs of dansylated amino acids was achieved with a buffer of 100.0 mM boric acid, 5.0 mM ammonium acetate, 3.0 mM ZnSO₄, and 6.0 mM [C₆mim][l ‐Lys] at pH 8.2. To validate the unique behavior of AAILs, a comparative study between the performance of Zn(II)‐l ‐Lys and Zn(II)‐[C₆mim][l ‐Lys] systems was conducted. In Zn(II)‐[C₆mim][l ‐Lys] system, it has been found that the improved chiral resolution could be obtained and the migration times of the three test samples were markedly prolonged. Then the separation mechanism was further discussed. The role of [C₆mim][l ‐Lys] indicated clearly that the synthesized AAILs could be used as chiral ligands and would have potential utilization in separation science in future.     

Inspection of the reversal of enantiomer migration order in ligand exchange micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

Enantiometers of D,L-phenylalanine were separated by capillary electrophoresis based on the principle of ligand exchange. Copper (II) complex of 4-hydroxy-L-proline was used as chiral selector. The separation and the migration order of D- and L-phenylalanine were strongly affected by adding an anion surfactant sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS). Without SDS in the electrolyte, the separation was also carried out but the resolution was very small. With SDS added into the electrolyte, the resolution decreased with increasing concentration of SDS until 5.0 mM. When the concentration of SDS in the electrolyte was over 5.0 mM, inversion of the migration order of DL-phenylalanine was observed and the resolution was also increased with increasing concentration up to 20 mM. It was interesting to find that the inversion of the migration order took place not only in the enantioscparation but also in the positional isomers. A family of a fluorinated amino acid, o-, m- and p-fluoro-D,L-phenylalanine was separated and the inversion of the migration order is discussed.     

Aluminum-catalyzed asymmetric alkylations of pyridyl-substituted alkynyl ketones with dialkylzinc reagents

Alkylations of pyridyl-substituted ynones with Et2Zn and Me2Zn, promoted by amino acid-based chiral ligands in the presence of Al-based alkoxides, afford tertiary propargyl alcohols efficiently in 57% to >98% ee. Two easily accessible chiral ligands are identified as optimal for reactions of the two dialkylzinc reagents. Catalytic alkylations with Et2Zn require a chiral ligand carrying two amino acid moieties (valine and phenylalanine) along with a p-trifluoromethylphenylamide C-terminus. In contrast, reactions with Me2Zn are most effectively promoted in the presence of a chiral ligand containing a single amino acid (benzyl cysteine), capped by an n-butylamide. Enantiomerically enriched tertiary alcohols bearing a pyridyl and an alkyne substituent can be functionalized in a variety of manners to furnish a wide range of difficult-to-access acyclic and heterocyclic structures; two noteworthy examples are Cu-catalyzed protocols for conversion of tertiary propargyl alcohols to enantiomerically enriched tetrasubstituted allenes and bicyclic amides that bear an N-substituted quaternary carbon stereogenic center. Mechanistic models that account for the trends and enantioselectivity levels are provided.     

Chiral separation with ligand-exchange micellar electrokinetic chromatography using a D-penicillamine-copper(II) ternary complex as chiral selector

D-Penicillamine is demonstrated for the first time as a chiral ligand for the enantioseparation of dansyl amino acids based on ligand-exchange micellar electrokinetic chromatography (LE-MEKC). Copper(II) was used as the central ion in the ternary complex. The effect of surfactant on the resolution was significant. A concentration of 20 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was shown to be necessary for the separation. Other important parameters, such as the concentration ratio of D-penicillamine (D-PEN) to Cu2+, the kind of metal central ion, the type and pH value of buffer, were also investigated. N-Acetyl-D-penicillamine and L-valine (Val), with similar structure to D-penicillamine, were applied as their copper(II) complexes as chiral selector and the chiral recognition mechanism is briefly discussed. Under optimum experimental conditions, i.e., 20 mM NH4OAc, pH 6.5, a 2:1 concentration ratio of D-penicillamine to Cu(II), 4 mM CuSO4 and 8 mM D-penicillamine, the chiral separation of eight pairs of different dansyl amino acid enantiomers was accomplished with resolution ranging from 1.1 to 5.9. When L-PEN was used instead of D-PEN, reversal of the migration order was observed.     

Simultaneous analysis of underivatized chiral amino acids by liquid chromatography-ionspray tandem mass spectrometry using a teicoplanin chiral stationary phase

Simultaneous chiral separations of underivatized amino acids have been performed using a teicoplanin-based chiral stationary phase and ionspray tandem mass spectrometry for their ionisation and detection. Different amino acid enantiomer pairs were separated simultaneously, including those of positional isomeric amino acids (e.g., L,D-Leu/Ile, or L,D-Val/Iva). Due to the specificity of tandem mass spectrometry, co-eluting enantiomers of different amino acids could also be determined. Fifteen chiral underivatized proteinogenic and non-proteinogenic amino acids were analysed simultaneously under isocratic conditions (acetonitrile-water, 75:25) in less than 25 min. For maximum sensitivity, post-column addition of 500 mM aqueous HCOOH was necessary. Detection limits varied from 2.5 to 50 microg l(-1) depending on the amino acid. The signal vs. concentration relationship was linear for all D- and L-amino acids (0.9995 < or = r2 < or = 1) for three orders of magnitude.     

Chiral separation of unmodified amino acids with non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis based on the ligand-exchange principle

A ligand exchange mechanism in non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis was employed for the separation of eight unmodified amino acids using chiral complexes of copper(II) with L-proline and L-isoleucine. The electrophoretic medium consisted of 25 mM ammonium acetate and 1 M acetic acid in methanol. We were able to completely separate the enantiomeric pairs of each of the investigated racemic amino acids. We also report the optimization of the separation parameters, such as pH*, composition of the complex, and concentration of the complexing agents.     

Separation of dansylated amino acid enantiomers by chiral ligand-exchange CE with a zinc(II) L-arginine complex as the selecting system

A facile chiral ligand-exchange capillary electrophoretic method has been explored for the enantioseparation and UV detection of dansyl-amino acids with Zn(II) L-arginine complex as a chiral selecting system. Successful enantioseparation of 17 pairs of amino acid enantiomers has been achieved with a buffer of 100 mM boric acid, 5 mM ammonium acetate, 3 mM ZnSO4 and 6 mM L-Arg at pH 8.0, of which 10 pairs were fully resolved with resolution in between 1.59 and 4.21. This new method was shown to be applicable to the separation of some mixed pairs of amino acids and to the quantitative analysis of some real samples such as rice vinegars, with a linear range between 0.8 and 150 microg/mL, correlation coefficient above 0.99 and recovery in between 90.1 and 112.4%. It was found that amino acids with low resistance side chain(s), low tendency to form intramolecular hydrogen bond or high tendency to form intermolecular hydrogen bonds are more easily enantioseparated than those with extra carboxyl and/or phenyl groups. By the use of the suggested buffer, the running pH should be selected at 7.4-9.0 to compromise the resolution and elution speed.     

Chiral ligand exchange capillary electrophoresis using borate anion as a central ion

Native DL-pantothenic acid, having a 1,3-diol structure, was chirally resolved by ligand exchange capillary electrophoresis using (S)-3-amino-1,2-propanediol as a chiral selector and the borate anion as a central ion. The optimum conditions for both high resolution and short migration time of DL-pantothenic acid were found to be 200 mM (S)-3-amino-1,2-propanediol and 200 mM borate buffer (pH 9.2) containing 15% methanol with an applied voltage of +25 kV at 20 degrees C, using direct detection at 200 nm. With this system, the resolution (Rs) of racemic pantothenic acid was approximately 1.7. When (S)-1,2-propanediol, (S)-1,2,3-propanetriol, (S)-1,3-butanediol or (S)-1-amino-2-propanol were used as chiral ligand instead of (S)-3-amino-1,2-propanediol, DL-pantothenic acid was not enantioseparated. When borate was replaced with Tris or butylborate, no chiral separation was achieved. Therefore, the ionic interaction between the amino and carboxyl groups of the ternary complex may play an important role in the enantioseparation of DL-pantothenic acid by the proposed CE system.     

Enantioseparation of DL-isocitric acid by a chiral ligand exchange CE with Ni(II)-D-quinic acid system

The ratio of citric acid to D ‐isocitric acid can be used to distinguish authentic and adulterated fruit juices. To separate DL ‐isocitric acid enantiomers, we used ligand exchange CE. D ‐Quinic acid was used as a chiral selector ligand and Mn(II), Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) ions were used as the central ions of the chiral selector in the BGE. DL ‐Isocitric acid was found to be enantioseparated with the above metal ions except for Mn(II) ion. The optimum running conditions for the analysis of D ‐ and L ‐isocitric acids along with citric acid, an isomer of isocitric acid, were found to be a BGE (pH 5.0) containing 30% ACN, 20 mM acetic acid, 20 mM NiSO₄, and 80 mM D ‐quinic acid. Under these conditions, DL ‐isocitric and citric acids in fruit juices were analyzed successfully.     

Direct separation of amino enantiomers by high performance ligand exchange chromatography on chemically bonded chiral phases

Summary Various chiral chemically bonded stationary phases for the separation of amino acid enantiomers by high performance ligand exchange chromatography are described. The phases were synthesized by treating silica gel with 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane and bonding L-amino acids such as L-azetidine carboxylic acid, L-pipecolic acid or L-phenylalanine to the product. The best results were obtained with L-pipecolic acid as a fixed ligand. Nearly all common amino acid enantiomers could be separated.Presented at the 14th International Symposium on Chromatography London, September, 1982     

Capillary electrophoresis direct enantioseparation of aromatic amino acids based on mixed chelate-inclusion complexation of aminoethylamino-beta-cyclodextrin

6(A)-(2-Aminoethylamino)-6(A)-deoxy-beta-cyclodextrin (CDen) was synthesized and formed a binary complex with Cu(II) which was shown to be an effective chiral selector for separation of underivatized amino acid enantiomers in capillary electrophoresis (CE). Moreover, the chiral resolution was greatly enhanced by the presence of polyethyl glycol (PEG) and tert-butyl alcohol in the running buffer. The optimum experimental conditions were 20 mmol/L CDen, 20 mmol/L CuSO(4).5H(2)O, 5.0 mg/mL PEG20000 and 1.0% v/v tert-butyl alcohol, pH 5.80. With the proposed method, the four selected aromatic chiral amino acid pairs were separated in less than 15 min.