Synthesis of new chiral fluorescent sensors and their applications in enantioselective discrimination

New chiral fluorescent sensors derived from tetraphenylethylene and proline hydrazide were synthesized and applied in the chiral recognition of various chiral compounds, including unprotected amino acids, acidic compounds, chiral amines and even neutral alcohols. These results demonstrated that the excellent enantioselective response ability to various chiral substrates could be attributed to the –NH moieties of pyrrolidine ring and thiourea unit which acted as hydrogen-bonding donors. This result is of potential significance in enantiomeric discrimination and high-throughput analysis of the enantiomeric purity of chiral guests.     

Synthesis of new chiral fluorescent sensors and their applications in enantioselective discrimination

Five novel sensors (R,R)-3–6 and (S, S)-6 were synthesized and developed for enantioselective recognition of chiral compounds. Sensor 6 with two thiourea groups and steric π-conjugation frameworks could discriminate different chiral substrates, including acidic compounds, basic compounds, and neutral compounds. These results disclosed that the outstanding performance of enantioselective discrimination could be attributed to the thiourea group which acted as a hydrogen-bonding donor and the bulky steric moiety of the hosts which provided appropriate chiral environment. This result will be of great practical value in the designation of chiral sensors and high-throughput assay of chiral products.     

Novel chiral stationary phases based on peptoid combining a quinine/quinidine moiety through a C9‐position carbamate group

By connecting a quinine or quinidine moiety to the peptoid chain through the C9‐position carbamate group, we synthesized two new chiral selectors. After immobilizing them onto 3‐mercaptopropyl‐modified silica gel, two novel chiral stationary phases were prepared. With neutral, acid, and basic chiral compounds as analytes, we evaluated these two stationary phases and compared their chromatographic performance with chiral columns based on quinine tert‐butyl carbamate and the previous peptoid. From the resolution of neutral and basic analytes under normal‐phase mode, it was found that the new stationary phases exhibited much better enantioselectivity than the quinine tert‐butyl carbamate column; the peptoid moiety played an important role in enantiorecognition, which controlled the elution orders of enantiomers; the assisting role of the cinchona alkaloid moieties was observed in some separations. Under acid polar organic phase mode, it was proved that cinchona alkaloid moieties introduced excellent enantiorecognitions for chiral acid compounds; in some separations, the peptoid moiety affected enantioseparations as well. Overall, chiral moieties with specific enantioselectivity were demonstrated to improve the performance of peptoid chiral stationary phase efficiently.     

Evaluation of aromatic-derivatized cyclofructans 6 and 7 as HPLC chiral selectors

The two best aromatic-functionalized cyclofructan chiral stationary phases, R-naphthylethyl-carbamate cyclofructan 6 (RN-CF6) and dimethylphenyl-carbamate cyclofructan 7 (DMP-CF7), were synthesized and evaluated by injecting various classes of chiral analytes. They provided enantioselectivity toward a broad range of compounds, including chiral acids, amines, metal complexes, and neutral compounds. It is interesting that they exhibited complementary selectivities and the combination of two columns provided enantiomeric separations for 43% of the test analytes. These extensive chromatographic results provided useful information about method development of specific analytes, and also gave some insight as to the enantioseparation mechanism.     

Comparative Enantiomer-Resolving Ability of Coated and Covalently Immobilized Versions of Two Polysaccharide-Based Chiral Selectors in High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

The separation of enantiomers of over 175 randomly selected chiral acidic, basic, and neutral compounds was studied on 4 polysaccharide-based chiral columns made by coating or covalent attachment of cellulose 3,5-dichlorophenylcarbamate or amylose 3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate on the surface of silica. Triscarbamate derivatives of cellulose or amylose were used for the preparation of coated-type columns, while in the case of covalently immobilized chiral stationary phases, the respective polysaccharides were not completely carbamoylated but only close to triscarbamates. It was found that this minimal difference in the chemical composition of the polysaccharide derivatives resulted in significantly different enantiomer-resolving ability for certain groups of chiral compounds while only marginally different for other chiral analytes. This potential difference between coated- and covalently immobilized versions of the “same” chiral selector must be considered in method development with these columns, as well as in method transfer between them.     

Chiral separation of anionic and neutral compounds using a hepta-substituted cationic beta-cyclodextrin as a chiral selector in capillary electrophoresis

Enantiomeric separations of six anionic and two neutral racemates were achieved using a fully substituted heptakis(6-hydroxyethylamino-6-deoxy)-beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD-EA) as a chiral selector. As beta-CD-EA provides a dynamic coating on the capillary wall, reverse-polarity capillary electrophoresis (CE) configuration is applied for separations of anionic and neutral chiral compounds. Chiral separations of various classes of anionic and neutral enantiomers were found to be highly dependent on pH because the degree of protonation of beta-CD-EA can alter the shape of the CD cavity by charge repulsion, altering complexation, aiding selectivity, and leading to better enantiomeric separation. In general, the chiral resolution of anionic enantiomers was enhanced at higher pH. This suggests that carboxylate or phosphate groups on the analyte may interact with the protonated amine groups of cationic CD. The successful enantioseparation was achieved in a pH range of 6.6-7.8 for all six anionic analytes, in the presence of 10 mM beta-CD-EA.     

A multichannel electrophoresis microchip platform for rapid chiral selector screening

This study presents a four-channel electrophoresis chip platform, featuring double-cross hydrostatic sample injection, for rapid chiral selector screening. This platform needs only five electrodes to drive microchip electrophoresis in four separate channels for screening four chiral selectors at a time. To demonstrate the performance of this screening platform, eight neutral CDs and their derivatives as chiral selectors were screened towards two FITC-labeled chiral compounds. The screening could be accomplished in less than 2 min. Dimethyl-beta-CD and hydroxypropyl-alpha-CD was demonstrated to be the appropriate selectors for FITC-norfenefrine and FITC-baclofen, respectively. The established platform is easy to operate and suitable for rapid screening process, which is expected to be a potential platform for high-throughput screening of chiral selectors.     

Polymeric alkenoxy amino acid surfactants: V. Comparison of carboxylate and sulfate head group polymeric surfactants for enantioseparation in MEKC

In this work, six amino acid derived (L-leucinol, L-leucine, L-isoleucinol, L-isoleucine, L-valinol, and L-valine) polymeric chiral surfactants with carboxylate and sulfate head groups that were recently synthesized in our laboratory [30, 33, 35] are compared for the simultaneous enantioseparation of several groups of structurally similar analytes under neutral and basic pH conditions. The physicochemical properties of the monomers and polymers of both classes of sulfated and carboxylated surfactants are compared. In addition, cryogenic high-resolution electron microscopy showed tubular structures with distinct order of the tubes of 50-100 nm width. A Plackett-Burmann experimental design is used to study the factors that influence the chiral resolution and analysis time of ten structurally related phenylethylamines (PEAs). It is observed that increasing the number of hydroxy groups on the benzene ring of the PEAs resulted in deterioration of enantioseparation using any of the six polymeric surfactants. For all three classes of PEAs, polysodium N-undecenoxycarbonyl-L-amino acidate (poly-L-SUCAA)-type surfactants provided enhanced resolution compared to that of polysodium N-undecenoxycarbonyl-L-amino acid sulfates (poly-L-SUCAASS). Several classes of basic and neutral chiral compounds (e.g., beta-blockers benzoin derivatives, PTH-amino acids, and benzodiazepines) also provided improved chiral separations with poly-L-SUCAA. Among the poly-L-SUCAAs, polysodium N-undecenoxycarbonyl-L-isoleucine sulfate (poly--SUCL) exhibited overall the best enantioseparation capability for the investigated basic and neutral compounds, while among the poly-L-SUCAASs, polysodium N-undecenoxycarbonyl-L-isoleucine sulfate (poly-L-SUCILS), and polysodium N-undecenoxycarbonyl-L-valine sulfate (poly-L-SUCVS) proved to be equally effective for enantioseparation. This work clearly demonstrates that variation in the head group of polymeric alkenoxy amino acid surfactants has a significant effect on chiral separations.     

The degree of substitution affects the enantioselectivity of sulfobutylether‐β‐cyclodextrin chiral stationary phases

Three chiral stationary phases were prepared by dynamic coating of sulfobutylether‐β‐cyclodextrin (SBE‐β‐CD) with different degrees of substitution, onto strong anion‐exchange stationary phases. The enantioselective potential and stability of newly prepared chiral stationary phases were examined using a set of structurally different chiral analytes. Measurements were performed in RP‐HPLC. Mobile phases consisted of methanol/formic acid, pH 2.10, and methanol/10 mM ammonium acetate buffer, pH 4.00, in various volume ratios. SBE‐β‐CDs with degrees of substitution (DS) 4, 6.3, and 10 proved suitable for the enantioseparation of 14, 11, and 8 analytes, respectively. The SBE‐β‐CD DS 4 based chiral stationary phase enabled the enantioseparation of the nearly all basic and neutral compounds. Chiral stationary phases with higher sulfobutylether‐β‐cyclodextrin substitution (especially DS 10) yielded higher enantioresolution values for acidic compounds.     

Atropoenantioselective Redox‐Neutral Amination of Biaryl Compounds through Borrowing Hydrogen and Dynamic Kinetic Resolution

We report herein a novel atropoenantioselective redox‐neutral amination of biaryl compounds triggered by a cascade of borrowing hydrogen and dynamic kinetic resolution under the cooperative catalysis of a chiral iridium complex and an achiral Brønsted acid. This protocol features broad substrate scope and good functional‐group tolerance, and allows the rapid assembly of axially chiral biaryl compounds in good to high yields and with high to excellent enantioselectivity.     

Preparation and evaluation of a chiral stationary phase covalently bound with a chiral pseudo-18-crown-6 ether having a phenolic hydroxy group for enantiomer separation of amino compounds

In order to develop a chiral stationary phase (CSP), which has even higher separation ability than the corresponding commercially available crown ether based CSP (OA-8000 having a pseudo-18-crown-6 ether with an OMe group as a selector), chemically bonded type CSP having a phenolic OH group on a crown ring was developed. Normal mobile phases with or without acid additive can be used with this OH type CSP in contrast to the conventional OMe type CSP which has a neutral chiral selector. Enantiomers of 25 out of 27 amino compounds, including 20 amino acids, 5 amino alcohols, and 2 lipophilic amines, were efficiently separated on a column with this CSP. Nine amino compounds out of 27 were separated with better separation factors than the corresponding OMe type CSP. It is noteworthy that the chromatography on this CSP exhibited excellent enantiomer-separations for amines and amino alcohols when triethyl amine was used as an additive in the mobile phase. Comparison of enantiomer separation ability on this OH type of CSP and on the OMe type of CSP and correlation between the enantioselectivity in chiral chromatography and that of the corresponding model compounds in solution imply that the chiral separation arose from chiral recognition in host guest interactions.     

α-猪去氧胆酸类分子钳的设计合成

以α-猪去氧胆酸为隔离基，芳香族化合物为手臂设计合成了一类新型的酯键 型分子钳，结构均经^1H NMR，IR,MS及元素分析所确证，并且考察了其对芳香胺类 化合物和D／L-氨基酸甲酯的识别性能．初步研究结果表明，这类分子钳受体不但 对中性小分子具有识别性能，而且对D／L-氨基酸甲酯具有对映选择性识别性能．     

Strategy for the chiral separation of non-acidic pharmaceuticals using capillary electrochromatography

In completion of an earlier defined generic chiral screening approach, a generic separation strategy for basic, bifunctional, and neutral compounds was proposed and evaluated. This strategy adds to a previously defined strategy for acidic compounds. The screening experiment of the actual strategy used a mobile phase of 5 mM phosphate buffer pH 11.5/ACN (30/70 v/v), a temperature of 25 degrees C, and a voltage of 15 kV. The selected chiral stationary phases were Chiralpak AD-RH, Chiralcel OD-RH, Chiralcel OJ-RH, and Chiralpak AS-RH, all based on polysaccharide selectors. It was seen that 31 out of 48 test compounds were partially or baseline-resolved under screening conditions. After execution of the optimization steps of the strategy, this number increased to 41, with a total of 21 baseline-separated compounds. Combined with the results obtained from the acidic test set examined in the earlier defined strategy, of all tested compounds 82.5% showed enantioselectivity and 49.2% could be baseline-separated.     

Chiral separation of N-imidazole derivatives, aromatase inhibitors, by cyclodextrin-capillary zone electrophoresis. Mechanism of enantioselective recognition

Baseline separation of ten new, substituted [1-(imidazo-1-yl)-1-phenylmethyl)] benzothiazolinone and benzoxazolinone derivatives with one chiral center was achieved using cyclodextrin-capillary zone electrophoresis (CD-CZE). A method for the enantiomeric resolution of these compounds was developed using neutral CDs (native alpha-, beta-, gamma-CDs or alpha-, beta-, gamma-hydroxypropyl (HP)-CDs) as chiral selectors. Operational parameters including the nature and concentration of the chiral selectors, pH, ionic strength, organic modifiers, temperature, and applied voltage were investigated. The use of neutral CDs provides enantiomeric resolution by inclusion of compounds in the CD cavity. The HP-alpha-CD and HP-beta-CD were found to be the most effective complexing agents and allowed efficient enantiomeric resolutions. Optimal separation of N-imidazole derivatives was obtained using 50 mM phosphate buffer at pH 2.5 containing either HP-alpha-CD or HP-beta-CD (7.5-12.5 mM) at 25 degrees C, with an applied field of 0.50 kV.cm(-1) giving resolution factors Rs superior to 1.70 with migration times of the second enantiomer less than 13 min. The same enantiomer migration order observed for all molecules can be related to a close interaction mechanism with CDs. The influence of structural features of the solutes on Rs and tm was studied. The lipophilic character (log kw) of the solutes and the apparent and averaged association constants of inclusion complexes for four compounds with the six different CDs led us to rationalize the enantioseparation mechanisms. The conclusions were corroborated with reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on chiral stationary phases (CSPs) based on CDs.     

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.     

Evaluation of a methacrylate-bonded cyclodextrins as a monolithic chiral stationary phase for capillary electrochromatography (CEC)-UV and CEC coupled to mass spectrometry

Glycidyl methacrylate-bonded β-cyclodextrin (GMA-β-CD) is synthesized as a new chiral monomer by direct chemical bonding with GMA using a fast and simple alternative procedure. Next, rigid and homogenous monolithic columns were prepared by polymerization of GMA-β-CD monomer with ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA), in the presence of commonly used porogens and a charged achiral monomer to form a versatile chiral monolith. This is the first report in which a preparation procedure for a methacrylate-bonded CD is introduced for chiral separations in CEC. The degree of substitution of GMA-β-CD monomer and mobile-phase parameters were optimized to achieve the highest enantioselectivity and plate number. To evaluate the GMA-β-CD monolithic column, different classes of chiral compounds were screened. Under the optimized β-CD monolith phase and the optimum mobile-phase conditions, 30 neutral and basic chiral compounds and two acidic compounds could be separated. The high chemical and mechanical stability, homogenous microflow and no loss of material at the interface allows for the first time the feasibility of applying this polymer-based monolithic column for CEC coupled to ESI-MS. Compared with CEC-UV, CEC-ESI-MS showed higher sensitivity and lower resolution. However, resolution greater than 1.0 can still be obtained for majority of the select tested compound in CEC-ESI-MS with at least three out of seven compound providing Rs≥1.5. The results reinforce the potential of GMA-β-CD monolithic columns for chiral separations with high sensitivity in CEC-ESI-MS. Finally, using hexobarbital as the model chiral analyte, the monolithic column demonstrated excellent stability and reproducibility of retention time and enantioselectivity.     

Enantioseparations by capillary electro-chromatography: differences exhibited by normal- and reversed-phase versions of polysaccharide stationary phases

The influence of using normal-phase and reversed-phase versions of four commercial polysaccharide stationary phases on chiral separations was investigated with capillary electrochromatography (CEC). Both versions of the stationary phases, Chiralcel OD, OJ, and Chiralpak AD, AS were tested for the separation of two basic, two acidic, a bifunctional, and a neutral compound. Different background electrolytes were used, two at low pH for the acid, bifunctional and neutral substances, and three at high pH for the basic, bifunctional and neutral ones. This setup allowed evaluating differences between both stationary-phase versions and between mobile-phase compositions on a chiral separation. Duplicate CEC columns of each stationary phase were in-house prepared and tested, giving information about the intercolumn reproducibility. In general, reversed-phase versions of the current commercial polysaccharide stationary phases are found to be best for reversed-phase CEC, even though at high pH no significant differences were seen between both versions. Most differences were observed at low pH. For acidic compounds, it was seen that an ammonium formate electrolyte performed best, which is also an excellent electrolyte if coupling with mass spectrometry is desired. For basic, bifunctional and neutral compounds, no significant differences between the three tested electrolytes were observed at high pH. Here, a phosphate buffer is preferred as electrolyte because of its buffering capacities. However, if coupling to mass spectrometry is wanted, the more volatile ammonium bicarbonate electrolyte can be used as an alternative.     

Peak splitting in the CE separation of enantiomers caused by organic solvents in the sample

Two robust chiral standard separation systems were developed for the analysis of the chiral purity of chemically different model compounds applied in homogeneous asymmetric hydrogenation catalysis. Sulfated CDs were used as chiral selectors as they allow the analysis of neutral, acidic as well as basic compounds in the same electrophoretic system. Poorly water-soluble amines were dissolved in different organic solvent/buffer mixtures. Reproducibly, depending on the amount of organic solvent in the sample solution, peak splitting occurred and/or more peaks than expected were observed, implying impure model compounds. The dependence of the "chiral purity" on experimental parameters, e.g., kind and amount of sample solvent, length of injection plug, inner surface modification of the capillary, kind of sulfated CD, hydrophobicity, and basicity of the analytes, etc. was investigated. It is gathered that different equilibrium constants of the strong binding basic analytes and highly sulfated CD complex in the organic phase of the injection plug and the aqueous electrolyte phase are resulting in two different mobility zones for each enantiomer. It follows that each enantiomer is showing two peaks instead of one. Experimental strategies are shown to avoid these peak splitting/artificial impurity effects and obtain the "real" chiral purity picture of the samples.     

新型三唑类抗真菌活性化合物毛细管电泳手性拆分及手性识别机理分子模拟研究

研究了7种新型三唑类抗真菌活性化合物的毛细管电泳法手性分离,利用计算机辅助分子模拟技术研究拆分机理。考察了8种中性环糊精手性添加剂,只有2,6-二甲基-β-环糊精对7种活性化合物都有手性识别能力。在30mmol/L NaH2PO4缓冲液中含2,6-二甲基-β-环糊精30mmol/L,用H3PO4调至pH 2.2,温度20℃,电压20kV,在此条件下7种活性化合物都能达到手性分离,其中4种活性化合物能达到基线分离(Rs>1.5)。应用计算机辅助分子模拟软件Discovery Studio 2.5/Sybyl/Gold模拟2,6-二甲基-β-环糊精与7种活性化合物主客体包结过程,并计算相互结合能,探讨手性识别机理,发现拆分结果与结合能的差异有关,结合能差异越大拆分结果越好。     

胶束电动毛细管色谱法分析手性化合物

对近年来胶束电动毛细管色谱法（ＭＥＣＣ）分析手性化合物方面的工作进行了评述,简述了ＭＥＣＣ分离手性化合物的原理,并探讨了几种ＭＥＣＣ手性分离体系的分离机理。