Free solution capillary electrophoresis as a new method for determining inclusion constants for the complexes between cyclodextrins and guest molecules

Intrinsic selectivity in capillary electrophoresis for chiral separations with dual cyclodextrin systems

Defined as the ratio of the affinity factors of the analytes for a complexing agent, the intrinsic selectivity is representative of the very nature of the complexing agent. When more than one complexing agent are present in the background electrolyte, it is possible to define several intrinsic selectivities according to whether complexing agents are considered separately or all together. A theoretical model with respect to selectivity is presented for separations that involve two complexing agents, using the concept of apparent constant for complex formation. When only independent complexation occurs (absence of mixed complexes), then the intrinsic selectivity of a complexing agent X in the presence of a complexing agent Y can be easily related to the intrinsic selectivity of each complexing agent and to complex formation constants. Dual systems of cyclodextrins (CDs), implementing the cationic mono(6-amino-6-deoxy)-β-cyclodextrin (β-CD-NH(2)) and a neutral CD (trimethyl-β-CD (TM-β-CD) or dimethyl-β-CD (DM-β-CD)), were studied to illustrate this model and to offer an alternative to the separation of neutral enantiomers when β-CD-NH(2) shows no or insufficient stereoselectivity. With a dual β-CD-NH(2)/TM-β-CD system at pH 2.3, arylpropionic acid enantiomers were baseline resolved and benzoin derivatives were partially resolved. For the arylpropionic acids, β-CD-NH(2), which is not stereoselective, confers on them a nonzero mobility, while TM-β-CD allows the chiral recognition. A study of the respective influence of ΤM-β-CD and β-CD-NH(2) concentrations was performed to determine the optimal conditions with respect to resolution. This theoretical approach allowed characterization of the intrinsic selectivity of neutral CDs for pairs of neutral enantiomers and therefore identification of the potential of neutral chiral agents for neutral enantiomers.

Development and evaluation of a linear regression method for the prediction of maximal chiral separation of basic drug racemates by cyclodextrin-mediated capillary zone electrophoresis

An important step in method development of chiral separations with neutral cyclodextrins (CDs) as chiral selectors is the estimation of the CD concentration that gives the highest degree of separation. From the equation [S]opt=1/(K1K2)(1/2) this optimal CD concentration can be calculated if any knowledge is available about the binding constants K1 and K2 of both enantiomer complexes. These values can be obtained by measuring the effective velocities of each enantiomer as a function of the selector concentration and fitting these profiles by non-linear least-square regression. An alternative approach has been developed which makes it possible to predict the optimal CD concentration from a few experiments performed at low CD concentrations. The model is developed using some antimycotic imidazole derivatives (econazole, miconazole and isoconazole) as test substances and hydroxypropyl-beta-CD as chiral selector. The results obtained by this method are in good agreement with those from non-linear least-square regression.

Binding constant dependency of amphetamines with various commercial methylated beta-cyclodextrins

Cyclodextrins play an important role in enantioselective separations. They represent the major class of chiral selectors used by capillary electrophoresis. Unfortunately, the purity of commercial cyclodextrins is often not well characterized, and similar selectors sold by various suppliers may show totally different enantioselectivities. In this study, the composition of several commercial methylated-beta-cyclodextrins is evaluated by means of previously developed analytical methods. Then, different calculation methodologies, such as graphical determinations, as well as nonlinear or linear regression approaches, are evaluated in order to calculate the binding constants of inclusion complexes formed by some amphetamine derivatives with methylated-beta-cyclodextrins. The nonlinear curve-fitting methodology proves to be the most suitable for these determinations. Comparisons are made between the different selectors and several hypotheses are proposed concerning the formation of the inclusion complex. Finally, enantiomeric resolutions are evaluated for these selectors and conclusions drawn about the knowledge of selector composition.

Methods for determination of electrophoretic mobility and stability of complexes originating in solutions during the chiral discrimination process

An equation for the calculation of electrophoretic mobility of kinetically labile complexes originating in solutions during the chiral discrimination process is derived. The mobility of the complex is calculated from that of a fully ionized racemic compound, measured in absence of the chiral selector, and from the effective mobilities of its enantiomers, corresponding to the concentration of the chiral selector causing their maximum difference. Correct values of stoichiometric stability constants of both enantiomers may be calculated from the mobility of the complex obtained in this way. Both the mobility and the stability values hold only for the experimental conditions used and the selected background electrolyte. The proposed method is demonstrated for the separation of the fully ionized N-t-BOC-DL-tryptophan with beta-cyclodextrin in 20 mM aqueous solution of alpha-hydroxyisobutyric acid, adjusted with NaOH to pH 4.5. Mobility of the complex is 8.4 X 10(-9) m2V[-1]s(-1) at 25 degrees C. The stability constants of D- and L-enantiomers of N-t-BOC-DL-tryptophan with beta-cyclodextrin, KD and KL obtained from migration data using this mobility of the complex, are 374+/-37 M(-1) and 336+/-31 M(-1), respectively. The geometrical mean value of calculated stability constants, 355 M(-1), agrees perfectly with the value of 350 M(-1), calculated from the same experimental data by another procedure recently.

Separation of tryptophan-derivative enantiomers with iron-free human serum transferrin by capillary zone electrophoresis

Enantiomers can be separated by using human serum transferrin as a chiral phase. With the help of the native protein we were able to separate enantiomers with high efficiency, using a low ionic strength 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid (MES) buffer, pH 6, in capillary zone electrophoresis. Tryptophan methyl, ethyl and butyl ester enantiomers-moving towards the cathode at pH 6-were resolved by passing through an iron-free transferrin zone in coated capillaries. Since the isoelectric point of the iron-free transferrin is a little higher than 6, the protein zone is either not moving in the experiment or is slowly moving towards the anode. Under the simplest experimental conditions the highest resolution was obtained for the butyl ester enantiomers and the lowest for the methyl ester ones. By changing the experimental conditions, however, this order could be reversed. The results indicate that the lengths of the alkyl chains in the enantiomers have a significant effect on the resolution, i.e., on the interaction between the protein and the separands.

Interaction of some anti-hypoxia drugs with hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin studied by means of charge transfer chromatography

The interaction of 12 anti-hypoxia drugs with hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPBCD) and the influence of LiCl, NaCl and KCl on the strength of interaction was studied by charge transfer chromatography. Most of the drugs form inclusion complexes with HPBCD and the relative strength of interaction varies markedly according to the structure of the drugs. Salts exert a considerable influence on the inclusion complex formation and the effect depends on the radii of the cation. The significant correlations between the lipophilicity of drugs and their capacity to form inclusion complexes with HPBCD indicate the involvement of hydrophobic forces in the interaction.