Some recent high-performance liquid chromatography separations of the enantiomers of pharmaceuticals and other compounds using the Whelk-O 1 chiral stationary phase

A comprehensive study to reveal the potential of a more sustainable ultra-high performance enantioselective reversed-phase chromatography on Pirkle-type stationary phase, with Whelk-O1 as a case study

In this study, we aimed to make enantioselective chromatography more sustainable, more sensitive, and compatible with aqueous formulations analysis and ESI-MS. To achieve this, we examined the effects of transitioning from normal-phase chromatography (which uses hydrocarbon-based solvents) to reversed-phase chromatography (using mobile phases based on water) using broad-spectrum Whelk-O1 columns as a critical study. For the first time, we holistically compared the thermodynamics and kinetics of the two elution modes in order to answer the question of whether same-column chemistry can effectively separate the compounds even in reversed-phase mode and found, unexpectedly, that reversed-phase chromatography using acetonitrile as the organic modifier was competitive from a kinetic standpoint. We also evaluated the effectiveness of three organic modifiers simultaneously on a sample of 11 molecules already resolved in NP conditions with different resolutions and achieved a resolution value of 1.5 for 91% and a resolution value of 2 for 82% of cases. Finally, we separated three racemates (within a k factor of 9) using only 480 µL of solvent per chromatographic run on a millibore column of 1 mm I.D., demonstrating that our approach allows for greener chromatographic separations.

Improved Achiral and Chiral HPLC-UV Analysis of Ruxolitinib in Two Different Drug Formulations

In this paper, two new reversed-phase (RP) HPLC-UV methods enabling the quantitative achiral and chiral analysis of ruxolitinib in commercial tablets (containing 20 mg of active pharmaceutical ingredient, API) and not commercially available galenic capsules (with 5 mg of API) are described. For the achiral method based on the use of a water/acetonitrile [70:30, v/v; with 0.1% (v) formic acid] eluent, a “research validation” study was performed mostly following the “International Council for Harmonization” guidelines. All the system suitability parameters were within the acceptance criteria: tailing factor, between 1.7 and 2.0; retention factor, 2.2; number of theoretical plates, >9000. The linearity curve showed R2 = 0.99 (Rxv2 = 0.99), while trueness (expressed as recovery) was between 96.3 and 106.3%. Coefficient of variations (CVs) (repeatability: CVw and intermediate precision: CVIP) did not exceed 1.3% and 2.9%, respectively. Moreover, the use of the enantiomeric Whelk-O1 chiral stationary phases operated under similar RP eluent conditions as for the achiral analyses, and the “inverted chirality columns approach (ICCA)” allowed us to establish that the enantiomeric purity of ruxolitinib is retained upon reformulation from tablets to capsules. The two developed methods can allow accurate determinations of ruxolitinib in drug formulations for medical use.

Integrating experimental and computational techniques to study chromatographic enantioresolutions of chiral tetrahydroindazole derivatives

With the selection of partially saturated 2H-indazoles as model compounds, we demonstrate the possibility to use Whelk-O1 chiral stationary phases (CSPs) to succeed in efficient small-scale preparative enantioseparations. Runs of three consecutive liquid chromatography injections (about 300 μg of racemate repeatedly injected in a 100 μL loop) produced groups of peaks without band contamination (α = 1.2 and R_S = 2.57). With this procedure approximately 3.0 mg of each enantiomer, with enantiomeric excess ≥ 97% were obtained. Very profitably, the high volatility of n-hexane used as the sole eluent facilitated the solvent evaporation after the enantiomer recovery. High resolution mass spectrometry analysis confirmed that the chemical identity of the two enantiomers was preserved along the entire process. The ability of Whelk-O1 phases in enantioseparating structurally similar compounds was confirmed with the analysis of other two racemates. Moreover, the relevant chemoselectivity exhibited by the CSP towards the three racemates should allow to simultaneously optimizing the enantioselectivity of different analytes and perform small-scale enantioresolutions of different compounds during the same run. In this study, the integration of experimental off-line electronic circular dichroism analysis with ab initio time-dependent density-functional theory simulations facilitated the assignment of the absolute configuration of the single enantiomers, while a molecular dynamics protocol can be useful to make a priori predictions of the enantioseparation ability of CSP towards selected compounds.

Chiral Stationary Phases for Liquid Chromatography: Recent Developments

The planning and development of new chiral stationary phases (CSPs) for liquid chromatography (LC) are considered as continuous and evolutionary issues since the introduction of the first CSP in 1938. The main objectives of the development strategies were to attempt the improvement of the chromatographic enantioresolution performance of the CSPs as well as enlarge their versatility and range of applications. Additionally, the transition to ultra-high-performance LC were underscored. The most recent strategies have comprised the introduction of new chiral selectors, the use of new materials as chromatographic supports or the reduction of its particle size, and the application of different synthetic approaches for preparation of CSPs. This review gathered the most recent developments associated to the different types of CSPs providing an overview of the relevant advances that are arising on LC.

An indicator displacement assay recognizes enantiomers of chiral carboxylates

Analyte chirality induces changes in fluorescence.

Resolution, determination of enantiomeric purity and chiral recognition mechanism of new xanthone derivatives on (S,S)-whelk-O1 stationary phase

The enantioresolution and determination of the enantiomeric purity of 32 new xanthone derivatives, synthesized in enantiomerically pure form, were investigated on (S,S)-Whelk-O1 chiral stationary phase (CSP). Enantioselectivity and resolution (α and R_S ) with values ranging from 1.41-6.25 and from 1.29-17.20, respectively, were achieved. The elution was in polar organic mode with acetonitrile/methanol (50:50 v/v) as mobile phase and, generally, the (R)-enantiomer was the first to elute. The enantiomeric excess (ee) for all synthesized xanthone derivatives was higher than 99%. All the enantiomeric pairs were enantioseparated, even those without an aromatic moiety linked to the stereogenic center. Computational studies for molecular docking were carried out to perform a qualitative analysis of the enantioresolution and to explore the chiral recognition mechanisms. The in silico results were consistent with the chromatographic parameters and elution orders. The interactions between the CSP and the xanthone derivatives involved in the chromatographic enantioseparation were elucidated.

Determination of enantiomeric excess of carboxylates by fluorescent macrocyclic sensors

Chiral fluorescent chemosensors featuring macrocycles comprising BINOL auxiliary and an array of hydrogen bond donors were synthesized. To enhance fluorescence of the chemosensors, conjugated moieties were attached to the 3,3'-positions of the BINOL auxiliary. The resulting chemosensors recognize a number of carboxylates, namely, enantiomers of ibuprofen, ketoprofen, 2-phenylpropanoate, mandelate, and phenylalanine in a stereoselective fashion. Depending on the structure of the chemosensor, the presence of carboxylate yields fluorescence quenching or amplification. This information-rich signal can be used to determine the identity of the analyte including the sense of chirality. Quantitative experiments were performed aimed at analysis of enantiomeric excess of chiral carboxylates. The quantitative analysis of enantiomeric composition of ibuprofen, ketoprofen, and phenylalanine shows that the sensors correctly identify mixtures with varying enantiomeric excess and correctly predict the enantiomeric excess of unknown samples with error of prediction <1.6%.

Rapid optical methods for enantiomeric excess analysis: from enantioselective indicator displacement assays to exciton-coupled circular dichroism

CONSPECTUS: The advent of high-throughput screening (HTS) for chiral catalysts has encouraged the development of fast methods for determining enantiomeric excess (ee). Traditionally, chromatographic methods such as chiral HPLC have been used for ee determination in HTS. These methods, however, are not optimal because of high duty cycle. Their long analysis time results in a bottleneck in the HTS process. A more ideal method for HTS that requires less analysis time such as chiroptical methods are thus of interest. In this Account, we summarize our efforts to develop host-guest systems for ee determination. The first part includes our enantioselective indicator displacement assays (eIDAs), and the second part focuses on our circular dichroism based host-guest systems. Our first eIDA utilizes chiral boronic acid receptors, along with prescreened indicators, to determine ee for chiral α-hydroxyacids and vicinal diols with ±7% average error (AE). To further the practicality for this system, a HTS protocol was developed. Our second eIDA uses diamino chiral ligands and Cu(II) as the receptor for the ee determination of α-amino acids. The system reported ±12% AE, and a HTS protocol was developed for this system. Our first CD based host-guest system uses metal complexes composed of Cu(I) or Pd(II) with enantiopure 2,2'-diphenylphosphino-1,1'-binaphthyl (BINAP) as host to determine the ee of chiral vicinal diamines (±4% AE), primary amines (±17% AE), and cyclohexanones (±7% AE). Primary amines and cyclohexanones were derivatized to form chiral imines or chiral hydrazones to allow coordination with the metal complex. Upon coordination of chiral analytes, the metal-to-ligand (BINAP) charge transfer band was modulated, thus allowing the discrimination of chiral analytes. As an effort to improve the accuracy for chiral primary amine ee determination, a system with a host composed of o-formylphenyl boronic acid (FPBA) and enantiopure 1,1'-bi-2-naphthol (BINOL) was used to reduce the AE to ±5.8%. In the presence of amines, the FPBA-BINOL host forms an imine-coordinated boronic ester, thus affecting the CD signal of the boron complex. Another chiral primary amine ee determination system was developed with Fe(II) and 3-hydroxy-2-pyridinecarbaldehyde. The chiral imines, formed by the pyridinecarbaldehyde and chiral amines, would coordinate to the Fe(II) ion yielding exciton-coupled circular dichroism (ECCD) active metal complexes. This system was able to determine the ee of chiral amines with ±5% AE. Furthermore, this imine-Fe(II) complex system also successfully determined the ee of α-chiral aldehydes with ±5% AE. Other ECCD based hosts were subsequently developed; one with bisquinolylpyridylamine and Cu(II) for chiral carboxylates and amino acids and another multicomponent system with pyridine chromophores for chiral secondary alcohol ee determination. Both of the systems were able to determine ee of the chiral analytes with ±3% AE. Overall, our group has developed ee determining host-guest systems that target various functionalities. To date, we are able to determine the ee of vicinal diols, α-hydroxyacids, vicinal diamines, cyclohexanones, amines, α-chiral aldehydes, carboxylates, amino acids, and secondary alcohols with ±7% or lower average error. Future development will involve improving the average error and employing the current systems to analyze real-life samples resulting from parallel syntheses.

Enantioresolution of chiral derivatives of xanthones on (S,S)-Whelk-O1 and L-phenylglycine stationary phases and chiral recognition mechanism by docking approach for (S,S)-Whelk-O1

The resolution of seven enantiomeric pairs of chiral derivatives of xanthones (CDXs) on (S,S)-Whelk-O1 and L-phenylglycine chiral stationary phases (CSPs) was systematically investigated using multimodal elution conditions (normal-phase, polar-organic, and reversed-phase). The (S,S)-Whelk-O1 CSP, under polar-organic conditions, demonstrated a very good power of resolution for the CDXs possessing an aromatic moiety linked to the stereogenic center with separation factor and resolution factor ranging from 1.91 to 7.55 and from 6.71 to 24.16, respectively. The chiral recognition mechanisms were also investigated for (S,S)-Whelk-O1 CSP by molecular docking technique. Data regarding the CSP-CDX molecular conformations and interactions were retrieved. These results were in accordance with the experimental chromatographic parameters regarding enantioselectivity and enantiomer elution order. The results of the present study fulfilled the initial objectives of enantioselective studies of CDXs and elucidation of intermolecular CSP-CDX interactions.

A versatile and practical solvating agent for enantioselective recognition and NMR analysis of protected amines

The 3,5-dinitrobenzoyl-derived 1-naphthylethyl amide 3 is an attractive CSA for NMR analysis of protected amines. It is readily prepared in a single step and combines practical resolution of diastereomeric complexes due to signal sharpness and effective signal separation. Crystallographic analysis shows that 3 forms a chiral cleft that can selectively bind one enantiomer of a substrate through hydrogen bonding, π-π stacking, and CH/π interactions. The enantioselective complex formation causes strong upfield shifts in the (1)H NMR spectrum even in the presence of only 5 mol % of 3.

High-performance liquid chromatography separation of enantiomers of mandelic acid and its analogs on a chiral stationary phase

The enantiomers of mandelic acid and its analogs have been chromatographically separated on a chiral stationary phase (CSP) derived from 4-(3,5-dinitrobenzamido) tetrahydrophenanthrene. The rationale of separations of these compounds is discussed with respect to the method development for determining enantiomeric purity and possibility of obtaining enantiomerically pure materials by high-pressure liquid chromatography. The relationship of analyte structure to the extent of enantiomeric separation has been examined and separation factors (alpha) are presented for various groups of structurally related compounds. Chiral recognition models have been suggested to account for the observed separations. These models provide mechanistic insights into the chiral recognition process.

A facile circular dichroism protocol for rapid determination of enantiomeric excess and concentration of chiral primary amines

A protocol for the rapid determination of the absolute configuration and enantiomeric excess (ee) of alpha-chiral primary amines with potential applications in asymmetric reaction discovery has been developed. The protocol requires derivatization of alpha-chiral primary amines through condensation with pyridine carboxaldehyde to quantitatively yield the corresponding imine. The Cu(I) complex with 2,2'-bis (diphenylphosphino)-1,1'-dinaphthyl (BINAP--Cu(I)) with the imine yields a metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) band in the visible region of the circular dichroism (CD) spectrum upon binding. Diastereomeric host-guest complexes give CD signals of the same signs but different amplitudes, allowing for differentiation of enantiomers. Processing the primary optical data from the CD spectrum with linear discriminant analysis (LDA) allows for the determination of the absolute configuration and identification of the amines, and processing with a supervised multilayer perceptron artificial neural network (MLP-ANN) allows for the simultaneous determination of the ee and concentration. The primary optical data necessary to determine the ee of unknown samples is obtained in two minutes per sample. To demonstrate the utility of the protocol in asymmetric reaction discovery, the ee values and concentrations for an asymmetric metal-catalyzed reaction are determined. The potential of the application of this protocol in high-throughput screening (HTS) of ee is discussed.

Rapid enantiomeric excess and concentration determination using simple racemic metal complexes

Racemic-metal complexes were used to determine identity, enantiomeric excess, and concentration of chiral diamines using metal-to-ligand charge transfer bands in circular dichroism spectroscopy. It takes under just 2 min per sample to determine [G]t and %R with tolerable errors (19% and 4%, respectively). The simplicity of the achiral receptors employed confers to this technique great potential for high-throughput screening.

Tolperisone: a typical representative of a class of centrally acting muscle relaxants with less sedative side effects

Tolperisone, a piperidine derivative, is assigned to the group of centrally acting muscle relaxants and has been in clinical use now for decades. The review summarizes the known pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, toxicology and side effects in humans and the clinical use of tolperisone. A future perspective for further exploration of this drug is given.

A multiple chemical equilibria approach to modeling and interpreting the separation of amino acid enantiomers by chiral ligand-exchange chromatography

A model of chiral ligand-exchange chromatography (CLEC) is presented that combines the non-ideal equilibrium-dispersion equation for solute transport with equations describing all chemical equilibria within the column. The model connects elution band profiles to the time and space resolved formation of diastereomeric complexes in both the mobile and stationary phases, thereby providing insights into the overall separation mechanism. The stoichiometries and formation constants for all equilibrium complexes formed in the mobile phase are taken from standard thermodynamic databases and independent potentiometric titration experiments. Formation constants for complexes formed with the stationary phase ligand are determined from potentiometric titration data for a water-soluble analogue of the ligand. Together this set of pure thermodynamic parameters can be used to calculate the equilibrium composition of the system at any operating condition. The model includes a temperature-dependent pure-component parameter, determined by regression to a single elution band for the pure component, that corrects for subtle effects associated with immobilizing the ligand (i.e., the chiral selector) onto the stationary phase. Model performance is assessed through comparison with chromatograms for two hydrophobic amino acid racemates loaded on the Nucleosil Chiral-1 CLEC column. The model is also applied to a restricted optimization of column operating conditions to assess its predictive power. In both cases, model predictions compare well with experiment while also providing a molecular understanding of the separation process and its dependence on column operating conditions.

Two Methods for the Determination of Enantiomeric Excess and Concentration of a Chiral Sample with a Single Spectroscopic Measurement

The previously established enantioselective indicator-displacement assays (eIDAs) for the determination of concentration and enantiomeric excess (ee) require two spectroscopic measurements for each chiral sample. To further simplify the operation of eIDAs, we now introduce two innovative analytical methods, both of which utilize a dual-chamber quartz cuvette, which reduces the number of spectroscopic measurements from two to one. An attractive feature of this cuvette is that the concentration- and ee-dependent absorption data can be collected at the isosbestic points or transparent regions of the spectra recorded in each individual chamber, thereby reflecting optical changes that occur in the other chamber. Therefore, two independent equations, which are needed to solve the values of the two independent variables-concentration and ee-can be established with only a single spectroscopic measurement. The first method takes advantage of this feature in conjunction with a judicious choice of indicator/host combinations to generate concentration- and ee-dependent calibration curves. Our second method removes the requirement to measure equilibrium constants and molar absorptivities altogether through the use of artificial neural networks (ANNs). The most frequently used three-layer feed-forward network is generated, which relates the absorption data to concentration and ee of the samples by training with a back propagation procedure. Here, the data collection is not limited to the isosbestic points or transparent regions. Both approaches enabled accurate and rapid determination of concentration and ee of chiral samples. The technology removes the relative difficulty, which is the need for two separate measurements for concentration and ee respectively, of analyzing chiral samples compared to achiral samples. When implemented in a high-throughput format, this technology should greatly facilitate the discovery of asymmetric catalysts in the same way as conventional high-throughput screening assays.

Chiral separation and identification of β-aminoketones of pharmacological interest by high performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis

This paper describes the development and comparison of chiral methods of analysis for a series of pharmacologically active indane derivatives that have been studied in the context of the evaluation of a promising prodrug system for amines. The methods are intended for studying the differences in the pharmacokinetics of the optical isomers of these compounds. Capillary electrophoresis, using cyclodextrins as chiral selectors, and HPLC, using a Pirkle type stationary phase, were tested. Baseline separation was not achieved by HPLC, but good separations were obtained in less than 7 min, by capillary electrophoresis with phosphate buffers pH 2.5-3 using sulfated-beta-cyclodextrin or mixtures of neutral beta-cyclodextrins as chiral selectors.

A validated chiral HPLC method for the enantiomeric separation of tolterodine tartarate

An isocratic chiral HPLC method was developed for the separation of tolterodine tartarate enantiomers. The mobile phase consists of n-hexane and isopropyl alcohol in the ratio of 980:20 (v/v) with 1 ml diethylamine and 0.6 ml trifluoroacetic acid. Chiralcel OD-H (250 mm x 4.6mm) column was used at constant room temperature. Flow rate was kept at 0.5 ml/min. This method is capable of detecting the S-isomer up to 0.1 microg/ml. The method was validated in terms of linearity, precision, limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ).

Flow-injection inhibition chemiluminescence determination of indapamide based on luminol–ferricyanide reaction

A novel and sensitive chemiluminescence (CL) method for the determination of indapamide coupled with flow-injection analysis (FIA) technique is developed in this paper. It is based on the inhibition effect of the studied drug on the chemiluminescence emission of luminol-potassium ferricyanide system. Under the optimum conditions, the decreased CL intensity is proportional with the concentration of indapamide in the range of 1 x 10(-8) to 1.0 x 10(-6) g ml(-1). The detection limit is 3.4 x 10(-9) g ml(-1) (3sigma). A complete analysis could be performed in 45 s including washing and sampling, giving a throughout of about 90 h(-1). The relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) for 11 parallel measurements of 1.0 x 10(-7) g ml(-1) indapamide is 3.0%. The proposed method has been applied for the determination of indapamide in its pharmaceutical formulations. The results obtained compared well with those by an official method. The possible inhibition mechanism of indapamide on luminol-potassium ferricyanide CL system was discussed briefly.

Separation, bioactivity, and dissipation of enantiomers of the organophosphorus insecticide fenamiphos

Most chiral pesticides are used as racemates despite the fact that the pesticidal activity of the given pesticide is usually the result of the preferential reactivity of only one enantiomer while the other enantiomers may have toxic effects against other nontarget organisms. Accordingly, the enantiomer of fenamiphos, an organophosphorus pesticide, was separated by high-performance liquid chromatography with reverse phase and normal phase on a Pirkle model chiral stationary phase column. It was found that n-hexane/isopropanol (95/5) was the best solvent system for enantiomer resolution of fenamiphos. Chromatographic data including capacity factor (k'), separation factor (alpha), and resolution (Rs) are presented. Inhibitory activity to enzyme butyrylcholinesterase and toxicity to Daphnia of enantiomers and racemic insecticide fenamiphos were also studied. In the toxicity tests of Daphnia, the lethal concentration (LC50) of (+)-fenamiphos, (-)-fenamiphos, and racemate were 0.0016, 0.0061, and 0.0019 microg/mL, respectively. No significant difference of LC50 values between (+)-fenamiphos and racemate were found, but (-)-fenamiphos showed significantly lower toxicity to Daphnia. The inhibitory concentration (IC50) to the cholinesterase were 0.008, 0.15, and 0.46 microg/mL for (+)-fenamiphos, (-)-fenamiphos, and racemate, respectively. Both enantiomers and the racemate showed significant difference in inhibiting the cholinesterase. However, (+)-fenamiphos proved to be about 20 times more toxic to Daphnia and only about four times more inhibitory activity to butyrylcholinesterase than (-)-fenamiphos. The dissipation of (+)-fenamiphos, (-)-fenamiphos, and racemate in selected soils and natural water samples were also studied. The half-life (t(1/2)) of (+)-, (-)-, and racemate in soils showed no related to the soil texture, pH, or organic carbon content. By comparing the residues of (+)-, (-)-, and racemate in the water, it was found that (+)-fenamiphos was degraded faster than the others after 21 days. Briefly, (+)-fenamiphos is more toxic than (-)-fenamiphos to a nontarget organism (Daphnia), but the environmental persistence of the two compounds showed no significant difference.