Enantioseparation of (RS)-ibuprofen by closed recycling high-speed counter-current chromatography using hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin as chiral selector

Enantioselective separation and determination of ibuprofen: Stereoselective pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and analytical methods

Ibuprofen (IBP), the 29th most prescribed drug in the United States in 2019, is a widely used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) comprising two enantiomers, (R)-IBP and (S)-IBP, collectively known as (RS)-IBP. This critical review examines analytical techniques for the enantioselective separation and determination of IBP enantiomers, crucial for pharmaceutical and clinical applications. The review focuses on state-of-the-art methods, including chromatographic techniques including high-performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and some other techniques. This review addresses pharmacokinetics, pharmacology, and side effects of each enantiomer, ensuring safe drug usage. By consolidating diverse analytical methods and their applicability in different matrices, this review serves as a valuable resource for researchers, analysts, and practitioners in pharmaceutical analysis, pharmacology, and clinical studies.

Strategies for chiral separation: from racemate to enantiomer

Chiral separation has become a crucial topic for effectively utilizing superfluous racemates synthesized by chemical means and satisfying the growing requirements for producing enantiopure chiral compounds. However, the remarkably close physical and chemical properties of enantiomers present significant obstacles, making it necessary to develop novel enantioseparation methods. This review comprehensively summaries the latest developments in the main enantioseparation methods, including preparative-scale chromatography, enantioselective liquid-liquid extraction, crystallization-based methods for chiral separation, deracemization process coupling racemization and crystallization, porous material method and membrane resolution method, focusing on significant cases involving crystallization, deracemization and membranes. Notably, potential trends and future directions are suggested based on the state-of-art "coupling" strategy, which may greatly reinvigorate the existing individual methods and facilitate the emergence of cross-cutting ideas among researchers from different enantioseparation domains.

Recent progress on chiral extractants for enantioselective liquid-liquid extraction

As the demand for enantiopure compounds increases, chiral separation has become increasingly important in many fields. Enantioselective liquid-liquid extraction is an up-and-coming technology for enantiomeric separation because it is highly efficient and easy to be scaled up. The key factor for enantioselective liquid-liquid extraction is the development of novel chiral extractants with high enantiorecognition performance. With successful studies on catalytically active metal complexes as chiral extractants, novel chiral extractants can be screened and designed from the field of asymmetric catalysis. Chiral ionic liquids, sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrins bonded magnetic nanoparticles and 2,2',3,3'-tetrahydro-1,1'-spirobi[indene]-7,7'-diol (SPINOL) based phosphoric acid host show unique potential ability in enantioselective liquid-liquid extraction and they deserve further study. Brief principles, extraction equipment and solvent systems in enantioselective liquid-liquid extraction are presented in the present paper, and recent progress in development of new chiral extractants in the past decade is mainly reviewed, including metal complexes, cyclodextrins, ionic liquids, tartrate acids and crown ethers.

Enantioseparation of three constitutional isomeric 2-(methylphenyl)propanoic acids by countercurrent chromatography

2-(3-Methylphenyl)propanic acid and 2-(4-methylphenyl)propanoic acid were successfully enantioseparated by countercurrent chromatography using hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) as a chiral selector. 2-(2-Methylphenyl)propanoic acid was also studied to compare the enantioseparation ability of three isomeric 2-(methylphenyl)propanoic acids. Totally 20 mg of 2-(3-methylphenyl)propanic acid and 20mg of 2-(4-methylphenyl)propanic acid were enantioseparated individually by countercurrent chromatography. Recovery for the (±)-2-(3-methylphenyl)propanic acid enantiomer was in the range of 85%-90% with 98.0%-98.8% purity and recovery for the (±)-2-(4-methylphenyl)propanic acid enantiomer was in the range of 80%-83% with 97.0%-98.0% purity. The enantioseparation factor in countercurrent chromatography for 2-(4-methylphenyl)propanic acid and 2-(3-methylphenyl)propanic acid were 1.31 and 1.26, and the peak resolution in HPLC reached 2.2 and 1.4. However, no enantioseparation could be found for 2-(2-methylphenyl)propanic acid. In addition, the inclusion complexes were investigated by UV spectrophotometer. The inclusion formation constant of inclusion complex between 2-(4-methylphenyl)propanic acid, 2-(3-methylphenyl)propanic acid, 2-(2-methylphenyl)propanic acid and HP-β-CD were determined as 121.73 mol/L, 78.12 mol/L and 53.18 mol/L, respectively. The present results showed that enantiorecognition was greatly affected by substituted positions of methyl group on the benzene ring. Combined with our previous results, the steric hindrance had a significant effect on inclusion interaction between HP-β-CD and racemic 2-(substitutedphenyl)propanoic acids. No enantiorecognition could be achieved for 2-(substitutedphenyl)propanoic acids with ortho-substituent group on benzene, while the influence of meta- and para- group on enantiorecognition varies with different substituent groups on benzene ring.

Enantioseparation of ondansetron by countercurrent chromatography using sulfobutyl ether-β-cyclodextrin as chiral selector

Ondansetron, a highly selective 5-hydroxytryptamine 3 receptor antagonist, was successfully enantioseparated by recycling countercurrent chromatography using sulfobutyl ether-β-cyclodextrin as chiral selector. Important factors for the enantioseparation were optimized, including different organic solvent, type of substituted β-cyclodextrin, pH of aqueous phase, concentration of chiral selector, and separation temperature. A biphasic solvent system composed of n-hexane: n-butyl acetate: 0.1 mol/L phosphate buffer solution pH 9.2 with 50 mmol/L of sulfobutyl ether-β-cyclodextrin (2.5:7.5:10, v/v/v) was selected. Under optimized separation conditions, 5 mg of ondansetron was enantioseparated using recycling countercurrent chromatography, yielding 1.2 and 1.5 mg of ondansetron enantiomers with 97.5 and 95.8% purity and the recovery reached 48-60%.

Enantioseparation of 2-(4-chlorophenyl)succinic acid by countercurrent chromatography and investigation of injection volume on resolution

2-(4-Chlorophenyl)succinic acid was successfully enantioseparated by countercurrent chromatography using hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin as chiral selector. A two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-0.1 mol/L phosphate buffer with pH 2.65 (5:5:10, v/v) was selected. Enantioselective liquid-liquid extraction was used to optimize the enantioseparation conditions. Meanwhile, the influence of injection volume on resolution in countercurrent chromatography was investigated and a linear relationship between the inflection point of injection volume and sample loading was tentatively obtained. The peak resolution will decrease significantly when the injection volume over the inflection point was used. In addition, it could be found that the smaller amount of sample loading, the larger impact of injection volume on resolution could be observed, which might serve as a good reference for the selection of sample volume in enantioseparations by countercurrent chromatography. Under optimized conditions, 20 mg of 2-(4-chlorophenyl)succinic acid racemate dissolved in 10 mL of aqueous phase was successfully enantioseparated by countercurrent chromatography. The recovery for both of the enantiomer of (±)-2-(4-chlorophenyl)succinic acid reached within 70-75% with a purity of 99.0%.

Chiral counter-current chromatography: A survey of its instrument, mechanism, procedure, and applications

The chiral separation by counter-current chromatography has made great progress in the past three decades. It has become increasingly popular in the field of chiral separation, and many applications have been introduced during the last years. This review mainly focuses on the current topics, applications, and trends in chiral separation by counter-current chromatography. It contains the development of modern counter-current chromatography apparatus, theory of counter-current chromatography, overview of applications of chiral counter-current chromatography enantioseparation, its current situation, and challenges. At last, some conclusions and perspectives also have been discussed in this review.

Thermoresponsive chiral stationary phase functionalized with the copolymer of β-cyclodextrin and N-isopropylacrylamide for high performance liquid chromatography

A novel chiral stationary phase (CSP) was prepared through the reaction of surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) by the copolymerization of thermoresponsive N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) on the silica beads for high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), elemental analysis (EA), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were applied to characterize the surface property of modified silica. Thermoresponsive modulation for the effect on enantioselectivity were investigated with chiral reagents including 1-phenyl-1-propanol, styrene oxide, 2-phenylpropionic acid and commercial chiral drugs comprising ibuprofen and labetalol hydrochloride. The column efficiency was evaluated by chromatographic parameters including retention factor (k), selective factor (α), resolution (R_s), plate number (N) and peak tailing factor (T_f). The results showed that five chiral solutes could be separated on the prepared smart column. And the selectivity of these compounds could be modulated by regulating the column temperature. It was contributed to the thermoresponsive NIPAM assisting β-CD to separate these chiral compounds. These results indicated that the thermoresponsive CSP would be a potential tool for separation of hydrophilic and hydrophobic chiral drugs and this paper provided a novel method for chiral separation in the future.

Enantioseparation of acetyltropic acid by countercurrent chromatography with sulfobutyl ether-β-cyclodextrin as chiral selector

Acetyltropic acid is an important synthetic intermediate for preparation of tropane alkaloid derivatives, which can be used as anticholinergic drugs, deliriants, and stimulants. In the present work, acetyltropic acid was successfully enantioseparated by countercurrent chromatography using sulfobutyl ether-β-cyclodextrin as chiral selector. A biphasic solvent system composed of n-butyl acetate/n-hexane/0.1 mol/L citrate buffer at pH = 2.2 containing 0.1 mol/L of sulfobutyl ether-β-cyclodextrin (7:3:10, v/v) was selected, which produced a suitable distribution ratio D_S  = 1.14, D_R  = 2.31 and a high enantioseparation factor α = 2.03. Baseline separation was achieved for preparative enantioseparation of 50 mg of racemic acetyltropic acid. A method for chiral analysis of acetyltropic acid by conventional reverse phase liquid chromatography with hydroxylpropyl-β-cyclodextrin as mobile phase additive was established, and formation constants of inclusion complex were determined. It was found that different substituted β-cyclodextrin should be selected for enantioseparation of acetyltropic acid by countercurrent chromatography and reverse phase liquid chromatography.

Enantioselective Extraction of Phenylalanine Enantiomers Using Environmentally Friendly Aqueous Two-Phase Systems

(1) Background: The environmentally friendly choline-amino acid ionic liquids (ChAAILs) and deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have been used as excellent alternatives to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and ionic liquids (ILs) in recent years; (2) Methods: Thus, ChAAILs/salt and DESs/salt aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs) were developed for the chiral extraction of phenylalanine enantiomers. The optimum ATPS of [Ch][L-Pro]/K3PO4 was chosen, and the influencing parameters were investigated, including ChAAILs concentration, salt concentration, chiral selector concentration, extraction temperature, phenylalanine concentration, and system pH; (3) Results: The phenylalanine enantiomers were mainly extracted into the top phase (ChAAIL-rich phase), meanwhile, the (S)-phenylalanine [(S)-Phe)] was preferentially recognized by the chiral selector in the top phase. The maximum separation factor (α) of 2.05 was obtained under the optimal conditions; and (4) Conclusions: This ATPS that was used for the chiral extraction of enantiomers is much more environmentally friendly, simple, and rapid, and has the potential to be used in the enantioselective extraction of other enantiomers.

An overview of recent progress in solvent systems, additives and modifiers of counter current chromatography

Solvent systems are critical to counter current chromatography (CCC). Appropriate additives and modifiers can be used to improve the separation efficiency of CCC.

Application of pH-zone-refining countercurrent chromatography in the chiral separation of two β-adrenergic blocking agents

Two β-adrenergic blocking agents, 1-[(1-methylethyl)amino]-3-phenoxy-2-propanol (1) and 1-[(1-methylethyl)amino]-3-(3-methylphenoxy)-2-propanol (2; Toliprolol), were enantioseparated by pH-zone-refining countercurrent chromatography. A two-phase solvent system composed of chloroform containing 0.10 mol/L of di-n-hexyl l-tartrate/0.10 mol/L of boric acid aqueous solution (1:1, v/v) was selected, in which 20 mmol/L triethylamine was added in the organic phase as a retainer and 2 mmol/L HCl was added in the aqueous phase as an eluter. Fifty milligrams of each racemate was completely enantioseparated by pH-zone-refining countercurrent chromatography to yield each enantiomer with a purity of more than 98%, and the recovery of each separated enantiomer reached around 76-82%.

Research Article. The Influence of Some Parameters on Chiral Separation of Ibuprofen by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and Capillary Electrophoresis

Objective: The aim of the study was to compare the influence of mobile phase composition and temperature on chiral separation of racemic ibuprofen by capillary electrophoresis and high performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. Materials and methods: Racemic ibuprofen was analysed on a chiral OVM column with an HPLC system 1100 Agilent Technologies, under isocratic elution, by using potassium dihydrogen phosphate 20 mM and ethanol in mobile phase. The flow rate was set at 1 mL/min, UV detector at 220 nm and different column temperatures were tested. For electrophoresis separation an Agilent CE G1600AX Capillary Electrophoresis System system, with UV detection, was used. The electrophoresis analysis was performed at different pH values and temperatures, with phosphate buffer 25 mM and methyl-β-cyclodextrin as chiral selector. Results: The chromatograhic analysis reveals a high influence of mobile phase pH on ibuprofen enantiomers separation. An elution with a mixture of potassium dihydrogen phosphate 20 mM pH=3 and ethanol, at 25°C, allowed enantiomers separation with good resolution in less than 8 min. Conclusions: The proposed HPLC method proved suitable for the separation of ibuprofen enantiomers with a good resolution, but the capillary electrophoresis tested parameters did not allow chiral discrimination.