Study of the mechanism of optical resolutions via diastereoisomeric salt formation

Racemic malic acid (I) was resolved by R-α-phenylethylamine(II). The S-(?)-I.R-(+)-II diastereoisomer was in excess in the precipitated salt. DSC curves and X-ray powder diffractograms proved that the diastereoisomeric salt mixture precipitated during the resolution was isomorphous with the optically pure S-(?)-I.R-(+)-II salt. The diastereoisomeric salt mixture containing the R-(?)-I.R-(+)-II salt in abundance bound crystal solvate (water or methanol) when produced by the total evaporation of the mother liquor, while the optically pure R-(?)-I.R-(+)-II salt crystallized without solvate. It is generally assumed that solid solution formation takes place when the two diastereoisomers are alike and the high similarity results in less efficient enantiomer separation. This paper demonstrates that efficient resolution can be accomplished in case of solid solution formation too. The diastereoisomeric salt mixtures can crystallize in isomorphic form even when the physico-chemical properties of the optically pure diastereoisomeric salts are quite different.