Aldonic acids, column chromatography

The relationship between structure and paper-chromatographic mobility of aldono-1,4-lactones has been discussed.65 Butanone, saturated with water, is suitable for the preparative separation of lactones on cellulose columns free acids and reducing sugars move very slowly in this system. Separation of aldono-1,4-lactones and of aldonic acids as their O-(trimethylsilyl) derivatives has been accomplished.66 The mass spectra of such derivatives are characteristic, so that it is possible to identify aldonic acids67 and lactones68 by means of combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. 

Pollock and Jermany (1968), using the asymmetric alcohols, butan-2-ol, 3-methylbutan-2-ol and 3,3-dimethyl butan-2-ol as the esterification reagents for each of a number of acids including lactic, glyceric, malic, mandelic and tartaric acids, demonstrated the separation of the resulting diastereoisomers after acetylation on a Carbowax 20M column. Their study, however, was directed principally at resolving various racemic carbohydrate diastereoisomers by conversion to aldonic acids prior to derivatization and gas chromatography. 

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