Preparation of a New Chiral Pyridino-Crown Ether-Based Stationary Phase for Enantioseparation of Racemic Primary Organic Ammonium Salts

Covalently Immobilizable Tris(Pyridino)-Crown Ether for Separation of Amines Based on Their Degree of Substitution

A great number of biologically active compounds contain at least one amine function. Appropriate selectivity can only be accomplished in a few cases upon the substitution of these groups, thus functionalization of amines generally results in a mixture of them. The separation of these derivatives with very similar characteristics can only be performed on a preparative scale or by applying pre-optimized HPLC methods. A tris(pyridino)-crown ether was designed and synthetized for overcoming these limitations at a molecular level. It is demonstrated, that this selector molecule is able to distinguish protonated primary, secondary and tertiary amines by the formation of reversible complexes with different stabilities. This degree of substitution-specific molecular recognition of amines opens the door to develop separation processes primarily focusing on the purification of biologically active compounds in a nanomolar scale.

Studies of a pyridino-crown ether-based chiral stationary phase on the enantioseparation of biogenic chiral aralkylamines and α-amino acid esters by high-performance liquid chromatography

This paper reports the enantioseparation ability of a pyridino-18-crown-6 ether-based chiral stationary phase [(S,S)-CSP-1]. The enantiomeric discrimination of chiral stationary phase (S,S)-CSP-1 was evaluated by HPLC using the mixtures of enantiomers of various protonated primary aralkylamines [1-phenylethylamine hydrogen perchlorate (PEA), 2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-1-amine (1-aminoindan), 2,2'-(1,2-diaminoethane-1,2-diyl) diphenol (HPEN)] and perchlorate salts of α-amino acid esters [alanine benzyl ester (Ala-OBn), phenylalanine benzyl ester (Phe-OBn), phenylalanine methyl ester (Phe-OMe), phenylglycine methyl ester (PhGly-OMe), glutamic acid dibenzyl ester (Glu-diOBn), and valine benzyl ester (Val-OBn)]. The best enantioseparation was achieved in the case of PEA. The high enantioselectivity was rationalized by the strong π-π interaction of the extended π system of the aryl-substituted pyridine unit.

Molecular recognition of organic ammonium ions in solution using synthetic receptors

Ammonium ions are ubiquitous in chemistry and molecular biology. Considerable efforts have been undertaken to develop synthetic receptors for their selective molecular recognition. The type of host compounds for organic ammonium ion binding span a wide range from crown ethers to calixarenes to metal complexes. Typical intermolecular interactions are hydrogen bonds, electrostatic and cation-π interactions, hydrophobic interactions or reversible covalent bond formation. In this review we discuss the different classes of synthetic receptors for organic ammonium ion recognition and illustrate the scope and limitations of each class with selected examples from the recent literature. The molecular recognition of ammonium ions in amino acids is included and the enantioselective binding of chiral ammonium ions by synthetic receptors is also covered. In our conclusion we compare the strengths and weaknesses of the different types of ammonium ion receptors which may help to select the best approach for specific applications.

Chiral recognition by enantioselective liquid chromatography: mechanisms and modern chiral stationary phases

An overview of the state-of-the-art in LC enantiomer separation is presented. This tutorial review is mainly focused on mechanisms of chiral recognition and enantiomer distinction of popular chiral selectors and corresponding chiral stationary phases including discussions of thermodynamics, additivity principle of binding increments, site-selective thermodynamics, extrathermodynamic approaches, methods employed for the investigation of dominating intermolecular interactions and complex structures such as spectroscopic methods (IR, NMR), X-ray diffraction and computational methods. Modern chiral stationary phases are discussed with particular focus on those that are commercially available and broadly used. It is attempted to provide the reader with vivid images of molecular recognition mechanisms of selected chiral selector-selectand pairs on basis of solid-state X-ray crystal structures and simulated computer models, respectively. Such snapshot images illustrated in this communication unfortunately cannot account for the molecular dynamics of the real world, but are supposed to be helpful for the understanding. The exploding number of papers about applications of various chiral stationary phases in numerous fields of enantiomer separations is not covered systematically.

Preparation and evaluation of a chiral stationary phase covalently bound with chiral pseudo-1 8-crown-6 ether having 1-phenyl-1,2-cyclohexanediol as a chiral unit

A chiral stationary phase (CSP) has been prepared by chemically bonding a chiral pseudo-18-crown-6 type host having a 1-phenyl-1,2-cyclohexanediol unit to 3-aminopropyl silica gel. The chiral column was prepared by the slurry-packing method in a stainless steel HPLC column. Normal mobile phases can be used with this CSP in contrast to conventional dynamic coating type CSPs. Enantiomers of 20 out of 30 amino compounds, including 20 amino acids, 2 amino acid methyl esters, 6 amino alcohols, and 2 lipophilic amines, were efficiently separated on columns with this CSP. It is noteworthy that 15 amino compounds out of 30 were separated with better separation factors and shorter retention times compared to the corresponding CSP having pseudo-18-crown-6 with 1-phenyl-1,2-ethanediol as a chiral unit. In view of the correlation between the enantiomer selectivities observed in chromatography and those obtained in gas phase FABMS-EL methods and solution phase titrations, chiral recognition in the host-guest interaction likely contributes to enantiomer separation.

Chiral stationary phase covalently bound with a chiral pseudo-18-crown-6 ether for enantiomer separation of amino compounds using a normal mobile phase

In order to apply the excellent chiral recognition ability of chiral pseudo-18-crown-6 ethers that we developed to chiral separation, we prepared a chiral stationary phase (CSP) by immobilizing a chiral pseudo-18-crown-6-type host on 3-aminopropyl silica gel. A chiral column was prepared by the slurry-packing method in a stainless steel HPLC column. A liquid chromatography system using this CSP combined with the detection by mass spectrometry was used for enantiomer separation of amino compounds. A normal mobile phase can be used on this CSP as opposed to conventional dynamic coating-type CSPs. Enantiomers of 18 common natural amino acids were efficiently separated. The chiral separation observed for amino acid methyl esters, amino alcohols, and lipophilic amines was fair using this HPLC system. In view of the correlation between the enantiomer selectivity observed in chromatography and the complexion in solution, the chiral recognition in host-guest interactions might contribute to this enantiomer separation.

Probing the discriminating power of chiral crown hosts by CD spectroscopy

The discriminating efficiency of pyridino- (1), pyridono- and thiopyridono- (2), phenazino- (3), and acridino- (4) 18-crown-6 hosts as well as pyridino- (1) and phenazino- (3) 18-crown-6 hosts with allylic moieties attached either to the macrocyclic ring [X=CH-CH(2)-CH=CH(2) or C(CH(2)-CH=CH(2))(2)] or to the heterocyclic subunit was probed by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy using enantiomers of alpha-(1-naphthyl)- ethylamine hydrogen perchlorate (1-NEA). The CD spectra of the diastereomeric complexes as well as the difference and sum of the spectra were analyzed. Titration experiments were also performed monitored by CD or UV spectroscopy. The CD- and (1)H NMR-based enantiomeric preferences were compared. CD spectroscopy showed that the relative stability of heterochiral [(R,R)-host/(S)-guest or (S,S)-host/(R)-guest] complexes generally exceeds that of homochiral [(R,R)/(R)-or (S,S)/(S)] complexes. Bulkier substituents (R=iBu, sBu or tBu) decrease complex stability but increase the discriminating power of the host. According to (1)H NMR titration, attachment of one allylic linker group in position X of the macro ring [(S,S)-1b, (S,S)-1e] changes the discriminating preference (from heterochiral to homochiral) of the parent hosts (S,S)-1a and (S,S)-1d. This change of discriminating preference was not reflected in the CD spectra. Host (S,S)-1g with an allyloxy linker group in position gamma of the pyridine ring gives CD spectra which clearly reflect the high discriminating power and enantiomeric preference of the host. The exciton-coupled circular dichroism (ECCD) spectra of the 1-NEA complexes of phenazino and acridino hosts allow reliable determination of the enantiomeric preference by comparing the A values of the exciton couplets. An allylic group appended to the macrocyclic ring or the N-containing heterocyclic subunit allows for the attachment of the chiral discriminator to the solid matrix of a chromatographic sorbent and also serves as a spectroscopic label of the host. CD spectroscopy is a simple and rapid method, providing qualitative information on enantiomeric discrimination. It can be of great help in designing and testing new host molecules.