Combined use of hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin and ionic liquids for the simultaneous enantioseparation of four azole antifungals by CE and a study of the synergistic effect

A CE method employing a dual system of hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin (HP‐β‐CD) and ionic liquids (ILs) has been developed for the simultaneous enantioseparation of four azole antifungals for the first time. In this study, three different types of ILs were employed as modifiers and among them dodecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride was found to be the most effective. The effects of the concentration, cations, and anions of ILs on the enantioseparation were investigated. With the developed dual system, all the enantiomers were well separated in resolutions of 3.8, 3.5, 2.8, and 2.5 for miconazole, econazole, ketoconazole, and itraconazole, respectively. The interactions between dodecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride and HP‐β‐CD were also studied using a neutral polyacrylamide coated capillary and ¹H NMR spectroscopy to further explore the synergistic effect involved. It was found that ILs improved the enantioseparation not only by changing the EOF, but also by interactions with HP‐β‐CD that could change its ability of forming inclusion complex with the enantiomers.