Chiral separations by capillary electrophoresis: Recent developments and applications

This paper provides an overview of the different classes of chiral selectors that are used in CE. The main properties of every class are described, together with the mechanism of enantioseparation. Newly introduced selectors are also discussed. Pharmaceutical and biomedical applications published from January 2004 till March 2005 are summarized.

Chiral separation of cetirizine by capillary electrophoresis

Chiral separation of cetirizine, a second-generation H(1)-antagonist, was studied by CD-mediated CE. Several parameters, including pH, CD type, buffer concentration, type of co-ion, applied voltage and temperature, were investigated. The best conditions for chiral separation were obtained using a 75 mM triethanolamine-phosphate buffer (pH 2.5) containing 0.4 mg/mL heptakis(2,3-diacetyl-6-sulfato)-beta-CD and 10% ACN. Online UV detection was performed at 214 nm, a voltage of 20 kV was applied and the capillary was temperature controlled at 25 degrees C by liquid cooling. Hydrodynamic injection was performed for 1 s. The method was validated for the quantification of levocetirizine in tablets and for enantiomeric purity testing of the drug substance. Selectivity, linearity, LOD and LOQ, precision and accuracy were evaluated for both methods. The amount of levocetirizine dihydrochloride in the commercially available tablets was quantified and was found to be within the specification limits of the claimed amount (5 mg). The amount of distomer in levocetirizine drug substance was found to be 0.87 +/- 0.09% w/w, which is in agreement with the certificate of analysis supplied by the company.

Use of microbore LC-MS/MS for the quantification of oxcarbazepine and its active metabolite in rat brain microdialysis samples

A microbore LC-MS/MS method is developed and validated for the quantification of the anti-epileptic drug oxcarbazepine (OXC) and its active metabolite 10,11-dihydro-10-hydroxycarbamazepine (MHD) in rat brain microdialysates, together with the internal standard for microdialysis probe calibration, 2-methyl-5H-dibenz(b,f)azepine-5-carboxamide (m-CBZ). The benefits of gradient versus isocratic separation are shown, next to the improved sensitivity resulting from the addition of 0.1% formic acid to the mobile phase. The coupling of microdialysis with ESI-MS requires sample desalting for which column switching was applied. Using weighed regression to calculate the calibration curves (1-1000 ng/mL), the assay was validated in terms of linearity, accuracy and precision, yielding a sensitive (limit of quantification is 1 ng/mL) and selective method for quantification of OXC, MHD and m-CBZ. By applying this method, we were able to determine the extracellular concentrations of OXC and MHD during at least 4h after intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of 10 mg/kg OXC.

Separation of neutral dihydropyridines and their enantiomers using electrokinetic chromatography

The separation and simultaneous enantiomeric separation of three neutral 1,4-dihydropyridine (DHP) derivatives (nimodipine, nisoldipine and nitrendipine) was studied using electrokinetic chromatography. Bile salts allowed the non-chiral separation of these DHP derivatives. With the taurine-conjugated bile salts a beginning of enantiomeric separation was observed for nimodipine and nisoldipine. Achiral micelles of sodium dodecyl sulphate mixed with neutral cyclodextrins did not allow enantioseparation. Baseline chiral separation of nisoldipine and nimodipine was obtained with carboxymethyl-beta-cyclodextrin at pH 5.0. The buffer type affected the chiral separation, especially in the case of nisoldipine. The addition of organic solvent decreased the enantioresolution of nimodipine. However, the resolution between the nisoldipine enantiomers was increased when methanol or ethanol were added to the background electrolyte. Varying the temperature had almost no effect on the enantioresolution of nisoldipine, whereas with nimodipine a clear improvement at lower temperatures was observed. Using the optimised method, the selectivity of this method was investigated for three possible impurities of nisoldipine.

Influence of methanol on the enantioresolution of antihistamines with carboxymethyl-β-cyclodextrin in capillary electrophoresis

According to the model of Wren and Rowe, the separation between two enantiomers in capillary electrophoresis (CE) decreases if an organic modifier is added to the run buffer containing a neutral cyclodextrin (CD) in a concentration below its optimal value in a solvent-free system. In previous work, however, it was observed that the addition of methanol to the background electrolyte (BGE) containing not charged carboxymethyl-beta-CD in a concentration below its optimal value, increased the enantioresolution of dimetindene maleate. The enantioresolution decreased when other organic modifiers (ethanol, isopropanol or acetonitrile) were added and/or when other neutral (beta-CD, hydroxypropyl-beta-CD) or chargeable (carboxyethyl-beta- and succinyl-beta-CD) CDs were used. In this CE study further attempts are made to elucidate the observed phenomena through investigating other basic drugs. The effect of organic modifier and CD concentration on the enantioseparation was studied by means of central composite designs. It is shown that obtaining this increase in enantioresolution depends upon the type of CD, the type of organic modifier, and the structure of the analytes. It was also observed that small differences in the structure of the analytes or the CD could have an influence on the enantioresolution. The addition of methanol also resulted in different effects on the resolution of closely related analytes.

Differential effects of organic modifiers on the enantioseparation of dimetindene maleate with carboxymethyl-β-cyclodextrin in capillary electrophoresis

Methanol enhances the enantioresolution of dimetindene enantiomers with carboxymethyl-beta-cyclodextrin (CMCD) as chiral selector at a concentration below its optimal value. The same effect was observed with ethanol (EtOH), although less pronounced. On the other hand, the addition of isopropanol (IP) or acetonitrile (ACN) decreases the enantioseparation. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms of these observed effects, other neutral (beta-CD, hydroxypropyl-beta-CD, and trimethyl-beta-CD) as well as chargeable (carboxyethyl-beta-CD and succinyl-beta-CD) CD derivatives were also tested with MeOH as organic modifier. It can be concluded that the increased enantioresolution of dimetindene enantiomers was only noted with CMCD as chiral selector and a short-chain organic modifier containing an alcohol function. The slight deprotonation of CMCD at pH 3.0 was only partly responsible for the high enantioselectivity and the 'favourable' effect of MeOH or EtOH. An important feature that can be concluded from these results is that for this particular analyte approximately the same resolution can be obtained with a lower CMCD concentration and the addition of some MeOH, compared to a MeOH free buffer.

Development of a validated capillary electrophoresis method for enantiomeric purity testing of dexchlorpheniramine maleate

A capillary zone electrophoresis method has been developed for the detection of 0.1% of (R)-levochlorpheniramine maleate in samples of (S)-dexchlorpheniramine maleate. Using 1.5 mM carboxymethyl-beta-cyclodextrin in an acidic background electrolyte, resolution values of more than 10 were obtained. Under these conditions the R-enantiomer is migrating in front of the bulk S-enantiomer. The assay was validated for linearity (2-10 microg/ml; R2 = 0.9992), selectivity [(RS)-pheniramine maleate and (RS)-brompheniramine maleate], limit of detection (0.25 microg/ml), limit of quantification (0.75 microg/ml), analytical precision (intra- and inter-day variability), repeatability of the method (RSD = 5.0%) and accuracy. In samples of dexchlorpheniramine maleate from two different manufacturers, concentrations of, respectively, 0.15% and 1.95% (m/m) of levochlorpheniramine maleate were detected. The method was compared to the HPLC method described in the European Pharmacopoeia III monograph.