Crown chiral selectors

Addition of a chiral carrier can improve the enantioselective transport through the membrane by preferentially forming a complex with one enantiomer. Typically, chiral selectors such as cyclodextrins (e.g. (4)) and crown ethers (e.g. (5) [21]) are applied. Due to the apolar character of the inner surface and the hydrophilic external surface of cyclodextrins, these molecules are able to transport apolar compounds through an aqueous phase to an organic phase, whereas the opposite mechanism is valid for crown ethers. 

Armstrong and Jin [15] reported the separation of several hydrophobic isomers (including (l-ferrocenylethyl)thiophenol, 1 -benzylnornicotine, mephenytoin and disopyramide) by cyclodextrins as chiral selectors. A wide variety of crown ethers have been synthesized for application in enantioselective liquid membrane separation, such as binaphthyl-, biphenanthryl-, helicene-, tetrahydrofuran and cyclohex-anediol-based crown ethers [16-20]. Brice and Pirkle [7] give a comprehensive overview of the characteristics and performance of the various crown ethers used as chiral selectors in liquid membrane separation. 

Capillary electrophoresis employing chiral selectors has been shown to be a useful analytical method to separate enantiomers. Conventionally, instrumental chiral separations have been achieved by gas chromatography and by high performance liquid chromatography.127 In recent years, there has been considerable activity in the separation and characterization of racemic pharmaceuticals by high performance capillary electrophoresis, with particular interest paid to using this technique in modem pharmaceutical analytical laboratories.128 130 The most frequently used chiral selectors in CE are cyclodextrins, crown ethers, chiral surfactants, bile acids, and protein-filled... 

In summary, it can be stated that for screening approaches in CE, only CD derivatives have been used. Other chiral selectors occasionally applied in CE, such as crown ethers, macrocyclic antibiotics, and chiral surfactants [39], were not found to be involved in (generic) screening approaches for chiral separations. 

Different classifications for the chiral CSPs have been described. They are based on the chemical structure of the chiral selectors and on the chiral recognition mechanism involved. In this chapter we will use a classification based mainly on the chemical structure of the selectors. The selectors are classified in three groups (i) CSPs with low-molecular-weight selectors, such as Pirkle type CSPs, ionic and ligand exchange CSPs, (ii) CSPs with macrocyclic selectors, such as CDs, crown-ethers and macrocyclic antibiotics, and (iii) CSPs with macromolecular selectors, such as polysaccharides, synthetic polymers, molecular imprinted polymers and proteins. These different types of CSPs, frequently used for the analysis of chiral pharmaceuticals, are discussed in more detail later. 

Crown-ethers are macrocyclic polyethers capable of forming host-guest complexes, especially with inorganic and organic cations. Modification of the crown-ether by the introduction of four carboxylic groups makes it possible to use this class of compounds as chiral selectors in CE. ... 

Crown-ethers can incorporate protonated primary amine compounds by formation of ion-dipole bonds with the oxygen atoms of the chiral selector. Crown-ethers have been widely used for the separation of several pharmaceuticals both in aqueous and non-aqueous media." ... 

Based on the theory, the separation of enantiomers requires a chiral additive to the CE separation buffer, while diastereomers can also be separated without the chiral selector. The majority of chiral CE separations are based on simple or chemically modified cyclodextrins. However, also other additives such as chiral crown ethers, linear oligo- and polysaccharides, macrocyclic antibiotics, chiral calixarenes, chiral ion-pairing agents, and chiral surfactants can be used. Eew non-chiral separation examples for the separation of diastereomers can be found. 

An extremely important aspect in pharmaceutical research is the determination of drug optical purity. The most frequently applied technique for chiral separations in CZE remains the so-called dynamic mode where resolution of enantiomers is carried out by adding a chiral selector directly into the BGE for in situ formation of diastereomeric derivatives. Various additives, such as cyclodextrins (CD), chiral crown ethers, proteins, antibiotics, bile salts, chiral micelles, and ergot alkaloids, are reported as chiral selectors in the literature, but CDs are by far the selectors most widely used in chiral CE. 

Chiral crown ethers can be generally utilized as chiral selectors. They have been used as additives to mobile phases or running buffer in MECK and capillary electrophoresis (CE) systems124,125 (see Section 3.1.6.4.). 

In contrast, CSPs have achieved great repute in the chiral separation of enantiomers by chromatography and, today, are the tools of the choice of almost all analytical, biochemical, pharmaceutical, and pharmacological institutions and industries. The most important and useful CSPs are available in the form of open and tubular columns. However, some chiral capillaries and thin layer plates are also available for use in capillary electrophoresis and thin-layer chromatography. The chiral columns and capillaries are packed with several chiral selectors such as polysaccharides, cyclodextrins, antibiotics, Pirkle type, ligand exchangers, and crown ethers. 

The main components of the membrane of the enantioselective, potentiometric electrode are chiral selector and matrix. Selection of the chiral selector may be done accordingly with the stability of the complex formed between the enantiomer and chiral selector on certain medium conditions, e.g., when a certain matrix is used or at a certain pH. Accordingly, a combined multivariate regression and neural networks are proposed for the selection of the best chiral selector for the determination of an enantiomer [17]. The most utilized chiral selectors for EPME construction include crown ethers [18-21], cyclodextrins [22-35], maltodextrins 136-421, antibiotics [43-50] and fullerenes [51,52], The response characteristics of these sensors as well as their enantioselectivity are correlated with the type of matrix used for sensors construction. 

A crown ether (19-[(10-undecen-l-yl)oxy]-4R,14R-(-)4,14-diphenyl-3,6,9, 12,5-pentaoxa-21-azabicyclo[15.3.1]heneicosa-l(21),17,19-triene) was used in a plastic membrane as chiral selector for the design of EPMEs [21]. These electrodes can differentiate between S- and R-l-phenylethylammo-nium ions. The values of the slopes obtained when different plasticizers were used for EPMEs design were between 51.3 and 60.6 mV/decade of... 

The chiral recognition mechanisms in NLC and NCE devices are similar to conventional liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis with chiral mobile phase additives. It is important to note here that, to date, no chiral stationary phase has been developed in microfluidic devices. As discussed above polysaccharides, cyclodextrins, macrocyclic glycopeptide antibiotics, proteins, crown ethers, ligand exchangers, and Pirkle s type molecules are the most commonly used chiral selectors. These compounds... 

The chiral selectors most commonly used as additives in the buffer can be divided into three main categories inclusion systems [e.g., cyclodextrins (CDs) or crown ethers], enantioselective metal-ion complexes [e.g. cop-per(II)-L-histidine or copper(II)-aspartame], and optically active surfactants (e.g., chiral mixed micelles or bile acids). Cyclodextrins are the most widely reported, and they are used in low-pH buffers for the resolution of... 

Cho SI, Lee KN, Kim YK, Jang J, Chung DS. Chiral separation of gemifloxacin in sodium-containing media using chiral crown ether as a chiral selector by capillary and microchip electrophoresis. Electrophoresis 2002 23 972-977. 

Synergistic effects in terms of efficiency of CE enantioseparation have been observed when a second (not necessarily chiral) selector is added in the same buffer system. It has been demonstrated that a combination of 18-crown-6 and )-cyclodextrin can achieve or enhance enantioselective separations of nonpolar amines, which are rarely observed with cyclodextrins alone <1997JCH(781)129, 1997JCH(695)157>. The formation of a ternary sandwich complex (dual complex) is postulated to be responsible for such a beneficial effect. 

The simultaneous presence of a chiral selector and a charged non-chiral IPR was studied successfully [129]. The presence of a non-chiral IPR dramatically improved the separation of oppositely charged compounds on a chiral column, probably because the IPR increased retention and hence interactions with the chiral packing, as in the speciation of selenium-containing amino acids, on a crown ether column... 

As in the case of chromatography, a chiral selector is also required in CE for enantiomeric resolution. Generally, suitable chiral compounds are used in the background electrolyte (BGE) as additives and hence are called chiral selectors or chiral BGE additives. There are only a few publications available that deal with the chiral resolution on a capillary coated with the chiral selector in CE. The analysis of the chiral pollutants discussed in this chapter is restricted only to using chiral selectors in the BGE. The most commonly used chiral BGE additives are cyclo-dextrins, macrocyclic glycopeptide antibiotics, proteins, crown ethers, ligand exchangers, and alkaloids.A list of these chiral BGE additives is presented in Table 1. 

The use of CDs for chiral separations has, to date, been the most common approach when using CE or MEKC, so it would be difficult to discuss and detail every aspect relating to their chemistry, effects on separation, and application in this held. The emphasis will, thus, be placed on a short description of the principle and mechanism of chiral separation, typical method development procedures, and an outline of the influential experimental parameters using CE and MEKC. References to recent published review and research literature will enable the reader to explore this vast area further. It is also beyond the scope of this short introductory review to actually outline the actual CE or MEKC separation principles in detail, but an in-depth discussion can be found in this encyclopedia and references to recent textbooks and can be readily found elsewhere. It must, of course, be pointed out that CDs are not the only useful chiral selectors that can be employed using electrophoretic techniques. The use of chiral surfactants (bile salts), crown ethers, metal-chelation agents, carbohydrates, proteins, and glycopeptides have all been used effectively [2]. 

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