HPLC separation of amino acid enantiomers and small peptides on macrocyclic antibiotic-based chiral stationary phases: a review

The search for new and effective chiral selectors capable of separating a wide variety of enantiomeric compounds is an ongoing process. In the past decade, macrocyclic antibiotics have proved to be an exceptionally useful class of chiral selectors for the separation of enantiomers of biological and pharmacological importance by means of HPLC, TLC and electrophoresis. More chiral analytes have been resolved through the use of glycopeptides than with all the other macrocyclic antibiotics combined (ansamycins, thiostrepton, aminoglycosides, etc.). The glycopeptides avoparcin, teicoplanin, ristocetin A and vancomycin have been extensively used as chiral selectors in the form of chiral bonded phases in HPLC, and HPLC stationary phases based on these glycopeptides have been commercialized. Teicoplanin, vancomycin, their analogs and ristocetin A seem to be the most useful glycopeptide HPLC bonded phases for the enantioseparation of proteins and unusal native and derivatized amino acids. In fact, the macrocyclic glycopeptides are to some extent complementary to one another: where partial enantioresolution is obtained with one glycopeptide, there is a high probability that baseline or better separation can be obtained with another. This review sets out to characterize the physicochemical properties of these antibiotics and their application in the enantioseparations of amino acids. The mechanism of separation, the sequence of elution of the stereoisomers and the relation to the absolute configuration are also discussed.