Preparation and study of a capillary electrochromatographic column prepared by conjugating β-CD COFs and gold-poly glycidyl methacrylate nanoparticles

A new enantioselective open-tubular capillary electrochromatography (OT-CEC) was developed employing β-cyclodextrin covalent organic frameworks (β-CD COFs) conjugated gold-poly glycidyl methacrylate nanoparticles (Au-PGMA NPs) as a stationary phase. The resulting coating layer on the inner wall of the fabricated capillary column was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and electroosmotic flow (EOF) experiments. The performance of the fabricated capillary column was evaluated by CEC using enantiomers of seven model analytes, including two proton pump inhibitors (PPIs, omeprazole and tenatoprazole), three amino acids (AAs, tyrosine, phenylalanine, and tryptophan), and two fluoroquinolones (FQs, gatifloxacin and sparfloxacin). The influences of coating time, buffer concentration, buffer pH, and applied voltage on enantioseparation were investigated to obtain satisfactory enantioselectivity. In the optimum conditions, the enantiomers of seven analytes were fully resolved within 10 min with high resolutions of 3.03 to 5.25. The inter- to intra-day and column-to-column repeatabilities of the fabricated capillary column were lower than 4.26% RSD. Furthermore, molecular docking studies were performed based on the chiral fabricated column and as ligand isomers of analytes using Auto Dock Tools. The binding energies and interactions acquired from docking results of analytes supported the experimental data.

Multilayer coatings based on gold nanoparticles and polymers with bovine serum albumin as a functional layer for the chiral separation in capillary electrochromatography

In this study, we developed physically adsorbed multi-layer coatings using poly-l-lysine or poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) and gold nanoparticles, which were functionalized with bovine serum albumin for the chiral separation in electrochromatography. The approach involves sequentially depositing positively charged polymers and negatively charged citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles. By repeating this modification cycle, we created two- and four-layer coatings, which were sequentially functionalized with albumin forming three- and five-layer coatings that were finally applied for the separation of enantiomers of dl-tryptophan. The formed coatings exhibit stability across a pH range of 2-10 and feature a dense, uniform surface, as confirmed by scanning electron microscope images. The number of layers impacted nanoparticle deposition density, with five-layer coatings being denser than three-layer ones. Five-layer coatings enable baseline separation of dl-tryptophan enantiomers, whereas three-layer coatings require the presence of albumin in the background electrolyte for separation. Therefore, increasing the number of layers and gold nanoparticles density enhances albumin active center concentration on capillary walls, improving the separation of dl-tryptophan enantiomers. The five-layer coatings can be easily fabricated and possess good repeatability of analytes migration time.

Applications of electrophoresis for small enantiomeric drugs in real-world samples: Recent trends and future perspectives

Separation and identification of chiral molecules is a topic widely discussed in the literature and of fundamental importance, especially in the pharmaceutical and food fields, both from industrial and laboratory points of view. Several techniques are used to carry out these analyses, but high-performance liquid chromatography is often the "gold standard." The high costs of chiral columns, necessary for this technique, led researchers to look for an alternative, and capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a technique capable of overcoming some of the disadvantages of liquid chromatography, often providing comparable results in terms of sensitivity and robustness. We addressed this topic, already widely discussed in the literature, providing an overview of the last 6 years of the most frequent and recent applications of CE. To make the manuscript more effective, we decided to divide it into paragraphs that represent the main field of application, from enantioseparation in complex matrices (pharmacokinetic studies or toxicological dosage of drugs, analysis of environmental pollutants, and analyses of foods) to quality control analyses on pharmaceutical formulas. About these, which are the fields of most meaningful use, we mentioned some of the most innovative and performing methods, with a look to the future on the application of new materials used, such as chiral selectors, that can make these types of analyses accessible to all, reducing cost, time, and excessive use of toxic solvents.

Preparation of β-cyclodextrin covalent organic framework-immobilized poly(glycidyl methacrylate) nanoparticle-coated open tubular capillary electrochromatography column for chiral separation

A new enantioselective open-tubular capillary electrochromatography was developed employing poly(glycidyl methacrylate) nanoparticles/β-cyclodextrin covalent organic frameworks chemically immobilized on the inner wall of the capillary as a stationary phase. A pretreated silica-fused capillary reacted with 3-aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane followed by poly(glycidyl methacrylate) nanoparticles and β-cyclodextrin covalent organic frameworks through a ring-opening reaction. The resulting coating layer on the capillary was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The electroosmotic flow was studied to evaluate the variation of the immobilized columns. The chiral separation performance of the fabricated capillary columns was validated by the analysis of the four racemic proton pump inhibitors including lansoprazole, pantoprazole, tenatoprazole, and omeprazole. The influences of bonding concentration, bonding time, bonding temperature, buffer type and concentration, buffer pH, and applied voltage on the enantioseparation of four proton pump inhibitors were investigated. Good enantioseparation efficiencies were achieved for all enantiomers. In the optimum conditions, the enantiomers of four proton pump inhibitors were fully resolved within 10 min with high resolutions of 9.5-13.9. The column-to-column and inter- to intra-day repeatability of the fabricated capillary columns through relative standard deviation were found better than 9.54%, exhibiting satisfactory stability and repeatability of the fabricated capillary columns.

Chirality-Controlled Mercapto-β-cyclodextrin Covalent Organic Frameworks for Selective Adsorption and Chromatographic Enantioseparation

Chiral covalent organic frameworks (CCOFs) benefit from superior stability, abundant chiral environment, and homogeneous pore configuration. In its constructive tactics, only the post-modification method allows for the integration of supramolecular chiral selectors into achiral COFs. Here, the finding utilizes 6-deoxy-6-mercapto-β-cyclodextrin (SH-β-CD) as chiral subunits and 2,5-dihydroxy-1,4-benzenedicarboxaldehyde (DVA) as the platform molecule to synthesize chiral functional monomers through thiol-ene click reactions and directly establish ternary "pendant-type" SH-β-CD COFs. The chiral site density on SH-β-CD COFs was regulated by changing the proportion of chiral monomers to obtain an optimal construction strategy and remarkably improve the ability of chiral separation. SH-β-CD COFs were coated on the inner wall of the capillary in a covalently bound manner. The prepared open tubular capillary was achieved for the separation of six chiral drugs. By combining the outcomes of selective adsorption and chromatographic separation, we observed the higher density of chiral sites in the CCOFs, and poorer results were achieved. From the perspective of spatial conformational distribution, we interpret the variation in the performance of these chirality-controlled CCOFs for selective adsorption and chiral separation.

Recent applications and chiral separation developments based on stationary phases in open tubular capillary electrochromatography (2019–2022)

Capillary electrochromatography (CEC) plays a significant role in chiral separation via the double separation principle, partition coefficient difference between the two phases, and electroosmotic flow-driven separation. Given the distinct properties of the inner wall stationary phase (SP), the separation ability of each SP differs from one another. Particularly, it provides large room for promising applications of open tubular capillary electrochromatography (OT-CEC). We divided the OT-CEC SPs developed over the past four years into six types: ionic liquids, nanoparticle materials, microporous materials, biomaterials, non-nanopolymers, and others, to mainly introduce their characteristics in chiral drug separation. There also added a few classic SPs that occurred within ten years as supplements to enrich the features of each SP. Additionally, we discuss their applications in metabolomics, food, cosmetics, environment, and biology as analytes in addition to chiral drugs. OT-CEC plays an increasingly significant role in chiral separation and may promote the development of capillary electrophoresis (CE) combined with other instruments in recent years, such as CE with mass spectrometry (CE/MS) and CE with ultraviolet light detector (CE/UV).

Open Tubular Capillary Electrochromatography-Mass Spectrometry for Analysis of Underivatized Amino Acid Enantiomers with a Porous Layer-Gold Nanoparticle-Modified Chiral Column

By developing a novel chiral column, we integrate open tubular capillary electrochromatography into sheathless mass spectrometry (MS) for efficient analysis of underivatized amino acid enantiomers. The chiral column is easily fabricated by modifying the inner surface of a capillary with a three-dimensional porous layer (PL, thickness ∼ 90 nm, pore size ∼ 30 nm) and gold nanoparticles and by introducing a chiral selector, thiol β-cyclodextrin (SH-β-CD), onto the modified surface via Au-S bonds. This approach greatly enhances the specific surface area and thus the ratio of the stationary phase to mobile phase and interaction between the stationary phase and analytes. The proposed PLOT@Au@CD column is coupled to the sheathless CE-ESI-MS system for chiral analysis of amino acid enantiomers. No derivatization of amino acids is required for chiral analysis, and baseline separation of a total of 15 pairs of amino acid enantiomers is achieved within 17 min with high column efficiencies of 5.60 × 10⁴ to 1.82 × 10⁶ N/m, high resolutions of 1.51-10.0, and low limits of detection between 0.02 and 0.09 μg/mL. The separation efficiency and MS intensity are only slightly decreased over 60 runs or after usage for 15 days, showing excellent repeatability and stability of the PLOT@Au@CD column. The proposed method is successfully applied to the determination of amino acid enantiomers in vinegar samples with satisfactory accuracy. Our study provides a new approach for developing a chiral stationary phase in the chromatographic separation technique, which can be easily coupled to sensitive MS detection, thus it would be of value for various applications in the fields of chiral analysis.

Carboxymethyl-β-cyclodextrin and histidine-zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 used for enantioseparation of three basic drugs in open-tubular capillary electrochromatography

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have drawn broad attention as a novel stationary phase due to their highly porous structure, modifiable pores, large specific surface areas, and satisfactory stability. In this paper, histidine-zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (His-ZIF-8) synthesized at room temperature was physically coated to the internal surface of the capillary column and the carboxymethyl-β-cyclodextrin (CM-β-CD) as the chiral selector was chemically bonded to the His-ZIF-8@capillary column. The prepared CM-β-CD@His-ZIF-8@capillary column was used for the enantioseparation of amlodipine, propranolol, and atenolol in capillary electrochromatography. In contrast to the CM-β-CD@capillary column without His-ZIF-8, the CM-β-CD@His-ZIF-8@capillary column reveals significantly improved enantiodiscrimination performance for amlodipine (R_s : 0 → 2.29), propranolol (R_s : 0 → 1.69), and atenolol (R_s : 0 → 0.79). His-ZIF-8 concentration, buffer pH, buffer concentration, and the proportion of organic modifier were evaluated in detail with enantiomerically separating chiral molecules. The repeatability of intraday, day-to-day, and column-to-column have been discussed; the result was preferable, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) of separation parameters was <6.7%.

Preparation of a polydopamine/β-cyclodextrin coated open tubular capillary electrochromatography column and application for enantioseparation of five proton pump inhibitors

An open tubular capillary electrochromatography column was prepared by immobilizing β-cyclodextrin on the inner wall of pretreated capillary via noncovalent adsorption of polydopamine. The resulting coating layer on the capillary was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Electroosmotic flow was studied to evaluate the variation of the immobilized columns. The prepared columns showed good chiral separation performance toward five proton pump inhibitors including lansoprazole, pantoprazole, tenatoprazole, rabeprazole, and omeprazole. The influences of β-cyclodextrin concentration, coating time, buffer pH, buffer concentration, and applied voltage on separation were investigated. In the optimum conditions, the enantiomers of five analytes were fully resolved within 15 min with high resolutions of 4.57 to 8.13. The method was extensively validated in terms of accuracy, precision, and linearity and proved to be robust. The relative standard deviation values for migration times and peak areas of the analytes representing intraday and interday were less than 1.9 and 3.6%, respectively. Further, the polydopamine/β-cyclodextrin coated capillary column could be successively used over 100 runs without showing significant decrease in the separation efficiency.

Facile preparation of ethanediamine-β-cyclodextrin modified capillary column for electrochromatographic enantioseparation of Dansyl amino acids

Herein, the fabrication of a fascinating multifunctional cyclodextrin (CD) chiral stationary phase and its chiral separation performance in capillary electrochromatography are proposed. A facile interfacial polymerization was used to anchor ethanediamine-β-cyclodextrin (EDA-β-CD) polymerized with trimesoyl chloride (TMC) and to form the chiral stationary phase (CSP) composite onto the surface wall of the capillary. The characters of prepared columns were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS). This novel CSP offers multi-typical interactions including hydrogen bonding, π-interaction, hydrophobic and electrostatic interaction as well as steric effects which contribute to prominent chiral recognition for Dansyl-DL-amino acids in CEC modes. The EDA-β-CD modified column showed eminent enantioseparation performance towards five Dansyl-DL-amino acids (the DL-forms of valine, threonine, leucine, phenylalanine, serine). Besides, the prepared columns were perfectly reproducible and stable. The relative standard deviations of the enantiomer retention times for intra-day (n = 5), inter-day (n = 3) runs and column-to-columns (n = 3) are below 0.54%, 1.35% and 4.89%, individually. This innovative chiral stationary phase shows a broader application view and scope in chiral recognition domain.

Gold nanoparticles-functionalized monolithic column for enantioseparation of eight basic chiral drugs by capillary electrochromatography

Poly(glycidyl methacrylate)-co-(ethylene dimethacrylate) [poly(GMA-co-EDMA)] monoliths were prepared, and used as a support to attach gold nanoparticles (AuNP) via Au-S bond. Pepsin, acting as a chiral selector, was linked to the surface of the carboxyl-modified AuNP through a hydrochloride/N-hydroxysuccinimide coupling reaction. The material was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and N₂ adsorption-desorption isotherm. The pepsin@AuNP@poly(GMA-co-EDMA) monolith showed preferable enantioselectivity for hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), chloroquine (CHQ), hydroxyzine (HXY), labetalol (LAB), nefopam (NEF), clenbuterol (CLE), amlodipine (AML) and chlorpheniramine (CHL) in capillary electrochromatography (CEC). These racemic drugs were monitored at the maximum absorption wavelength (220 nm for HXQ, CHQ, HXY, LAB, NEF; 240 nm for AML; 215 nm for CLE, CHL). In comparison with the pepsin@poly(GMA-co-EDMA) monolith loaded with 5 nm AuNP, the pepsin@poly(GMA-co-EDMA) monolith loaded with 13 nm AuNP shows significantly enhanced enantiomeric resolution (HCQ: 0.62 → 3.45; CHQ: 0.60 → 2.11; HXY: 0.49 → 2.30; LAB: 1.03 → 2.45, 1.45 → 3.46, 0 → 0.67; NEF: 0.53 → 1.29; CLE: 0.42 → 0.56; AML: 0 → 0.83; CHL: 0.24 → 0.55). Pepsin concentration, buffer pH value, buffer concentration and applied voltage were investigated in detail with (±) HCQ and (±) HXY as model analytes. The reproducibility of intra-day, inter-day and column-to-column were explored, and found to be satisfactory. Graphical abstractSchematic presentation of the preparation of gold nanoparticles (AuNP) modified.

Recent developments of monolithic and open-tubular capillary electrochromatography (2017-2019)

Capillary electrochromatography, which combined the high selectivity of high-performance liquid chromatography and the high separation efficiency of capillary electrophoresis, is an attractive separation tool. In this review, the developments on monolithic and open tubular capillary electrochromatography during 2017 to August 2019 are summarized. Considering the development of novel stationary phases is the most active research field in capillary electrochromatography, monolithic capillary electrochromatography is classified according to the polymer-based and hybrid monolithic columns, while open-tubular capillary electrochromatography is categorized by cyclodextrin, silica, polymer, nanomaterials, microporous materials, and biomaterials-based open tubular columns.

Zeolite silica nanoparticles-supported open-tubular columns for isomer and chiral separation using capillary electrochromatography coupled with amperometric detection

Zeolite SiO₂NPs OT columns with/without BSA were used for the separation of structural isomers, epimers and enantiomers by CEC-AD.

Recent advancements in open-tubular liquid chromatography and capillary electrochromatography during 2014-2018

This review critically discusses the developments on open-tubular liquid chromatography (OT-LC) and open-tubular capillary electrochromatography (OT-CEC) during 2014-2018. An appropriate Scopus search revealed 5 reviews, 4 theoretical papers on open-tubular format chromatography, 29 OT-LC articles, 68 OT-CEC articles and 4 OT-LC/OT-CEC articles, indicating a sustained interest in these areas. The open-tubular format typically uses a capillary column with inner walls that are coated with an ample layer or coating of solid stationary phase material. The ratio between the capillary internal diameter and coating thickness (CID/CT) is ideally ≤ 100 for appropriate chromatographic retention. We, therefore, approximated the CID/CT ratios and found that 22 OT-LC papers have CID/CT ratios ≤100. The other 7 OT-LC papers have CID/CT ratio >100 but have clearly demonstrated chromatographic retention. These 29 papers utilised reversed phase or ion exchange mechanisms using known or innovative solid stationary phase materials (e.g. metal organic frameworks), stationary pseudophases from ionic surfactants or porous supports. On the other hand, we found that 68 OT-CEC papers, 7 OT-LC papers and 4 OT-LC & OT-CEC papers have CID/CT ratios >100. Notably, 44 papers (42 OT-CEC and 2 OT-LC & OT-CEC) did not report the retention factor and/or effective electrophoretic mobility of analytes. Considering all covered papers, the most popular activity was on the development of new chromatographic materials as coatings. However, we encourage OT-CEC researchers to not only characterise changes in the electroosmotic flow but also verify the interaction of the analytes with the coating. In addition, the articles reported were largely driven by stationary phase or support development and not by practical applications.

Covalent organic framework incorporated chiral polymer monoliths for capillary electrochromatography

A covalent organic framework, Schiff base network-1 (SNW-1), was synthesized and incorporated into cellulase based poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) (cellulase@poly(GMA-EDMA-SNW-1)) monolith to afford a novel chiral stationary phase for capillary electrochromatography (CEC). SNW-1 is attractive as a stationary phase for CEC because it not only features high surface areas but also provides conjugate structures and abundant amine groups to give π-π electrostatic stacking and hydrogen bonding property. Incorporation of SNW-1 into monolithic column could improve the column efficiency and increase the interactions between the tested racemates and the stationary phase thus significantly improved their CEC separation. The obtained monoliths were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, elemental analysis and nitrogen adsorption. Moreover, effects of SNW-1 concentration, immobilization pH of cellulase and CEC conditions were also investigated. Under the optimized conditions, the cellulase@poly(GMA-EDMA-SNW-1) monolith exhibited excellent enantioseparation performance for eight pairs of different classes of chiral drugs including β-blockers, antihistamines and anticoagulants. Satisfactory repeatability was achieved with relative standard deviations for intra-day, inter-day and column-to-column runs less than 4.5%, and batch-to-batch runs less than 6.8%. The experiment results reveal that the combination of the versatile features of monoliths and unique properties of SNW-1 could be a promising strategy for chiral separation.

Advances in capillary electro-chromatography

Capillary electrochromatography (CEC) is a micro-scale separation technique which is a hybrid between capillary electrophoresis (CE) and liquid chromatography (LC). CEC can be performed in packed, monolithic and open-tubular columns. In recent three years (from 2016 to 2018), enormous attention for CEC has been the development of novel stationary phases. This review mainly covers the development of novel stationary phases for open-tubular and monolithic columns. In particular, some biomaterials attracted increasing interest. There are no significant breakthroughs in technology and principles in CEC. The typical CEC applications, especially chiral separations are described.

Sol-gel technique for the preparation of β-cyclodextrin gold nanoparticles as chiral stationary phase in open-tubular capillary electrochromatography

A novel open-tubular capillary electrochromatography column coated with β-cyclodextrin was prepared using the sol-gel technique. In the sol-gel approach, owing to the three-dimensional network of sol-gel and the strong chemical bond between the stationary phase and the surface of capillary columns, good chromatographic characteristics and unique selectivity in separating enantiomers were shown. The influences of capillary inner diameter, coating time, organic modifier, buffer pH, and buffer concentration on separation were investigated. The sol-gel-coated β-cyclodextrin column has shown improved enantioseparation efficiency of chlorphenamine, brompheniramine, pheniramine, zopiclone in comparison with the sol-gel matrix capillary column. The migration time relative standard deviation of the separation of the enantiomers was less than 0.89% over five runs and 2.9% from column to column. This work confirmed that gold nanoparticles are promising electrochromatographic support to enhance the phase ratio of open-tubular capillary electrochromatography column in capillary electrochromatography.

In situ immobilization of sulfated-β-cyclodextrin as stationary phase for capillary electrochromatography enantioseparation

In this work, a novel sulfated-β-cyclodextrin (S-β-CD) coated stationary phase was prepared for open-tubular capillary electrochromatography (OT-CEC). The capillary was developed by attaching polydopamine/sulfated-β-cyclodextrin (PDA/S-β-CD) onto the gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) coated capillary which was pretreated with polydopamine. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis spectroscopy (EDS) indicated that polydopamine/sulfated-β-cyclodextrin was successfully fixed on the gold nanoparticles coated capillary. To evaluate the performance of the prepared open tubular (OT) column, the enantioseparation was carried out by using ten chiral drugs as model analytes. Under the optimal conditions, salbutamol, terbutaline, trantinterol, tulobuterol, clorprenaline, pheniramine, chlorpheniramine, brompheniramine, isoprenaline and tolterodine were baseline separated with the resolution (Rs) values of 3.25, 1.76, 2.51, 1.89, 3.17, 2.17, 1.99, 1.72, 2.01 and 3.20, respectively. Repeatability of the column was studied, with the relative standard deviations for run-to-run, day-to-day and column-to-column lower than 5.7%.