Enantiomer detection

It is now generally accepted that precision and sensitivity are high and trace enantiomer detection (99.8% ee) is feasible with modern NMR instrumentation (>400 MHz). 

Ruta, J., Ravelet, C., Baussanne, I., Decout, J. L., Peyrin, E. (2007b). An aptamer-based enantioselective competitive binding assay for the trace enantiomer detection. Anal Chem. 79, 4716-4719. 

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry has also been demonstrated to be a powerful tool in both the qualitative and quantitative analyses of essential oil components. Literature on capillary and enantioselective capillary GC on-line coupled to isotope-ratio MS (IRMS) has been reviewed by Mosandl [1]. These techniques, which are valuable tools in control of authenticity of flavors and essential oils, are discussed in relation to various aspects, such as sample preparation and cleanup, chromatographic behavior of enantiomers, detection systems, and the use of internal isotope standards for quantitation. 

In chemoinformatics, chirality is taken into account by many structural representation schemes, in order that a specific enantiomer can be imambiguously specified. A challenging task is the automatic detection of chirality in a molecular structure, which was solved for the case of chiral atoms, but not for chirality arising from other stereogenic units. Beyond labeling, quantitative descriptors of molecular chirahty are required for the prediction of chiral properties such as biological activity or enantioselectivity in chemical reactions) from the molecular structure. These descriptors, and how chemoinformatics can be used to automatically detect, specify, and represent molecular chirality, are described in more detail in Chapter 8. 

Multiple Chiral Centers. The number of stereoisomers increases rapidly with an increase in the number of chiral centers in a molecule. A molecule possessing two chiral atoms should have four optical isomers, that is, four structures consisting of two pairs of enantiomers. However, if a compound has two chiral centers but both centers have the same four substituents attached, the total number of isomers is three rather than four. One isomer of such a compound is not chiral because it is identical with its mirror image it has an internal mirror plane. This is an example of a diaster-eomer. The achiral structure is denoted as a meso compound. Diastereomers have different physical and chemical properties from the optically active enantiomers. Recognition of a plane of symmetry is usually the easiest way to detect a meso compound. The stereoisomers of tartaric acid are examples of compounds with multiple chiral centers (see Fig. 1.14), and one of its isomers is a meso compound. 

An hplc assay was developed suitable for the analysis of enantiomers of ketoprofen (KT), a 2-arylpropionic acid nonsteroidal antiinflammatory dmg (NSAID), in plasma and urine (59). Following the addition of racemic fenprofen as internal standard (IS), plasma containing the KT enantiomers and IS was extracted by Hquid-Hquid extraction at an acidic pH. After evaporation of the organic layer, the dmg and IS were reconstituted in the mobile phase and injected onto the hplc column. The enantiomers were separated at ambient temperature on a commercially available 250 x 4.6 mm amylose carbamate-packed chiral column (chiral AD) with hexane—isopropyl alcohol—trifluoroacetic acid (80 19.9 0.1) as the mobile phase pumped at 1.0 mL/min. The enantiomers of KT were quantified by uv detection with the wavelength set at 254 nm. The assay allows direct quantitation of KT enantiomers in clinical studies in human plasma and urine after adrninistration of therapeutic doses. 

Catechin and epicatechin are two flavanols of the catechin family. They are enantiomers. The capillary zone electrophoresis (CE) methods with UV-detection were developed for quantitative determination of this flavanols in green tea extracts. For this purpose following conditions were varied mnning buffers, pH and concentration of chiral additive (P-cyclodextrin was chosen as a chiral selector). Borate buffers improve selectivity of separation because borate can make complexes with ortho-dihydroxy groups on the flavanoid nucleus. 

A stereoselective determination of enantiomers of 5, its A -oxide and N-desmethyl metabolites in human urine was developed by capillary electrophoresis using laser-induced fluorescence detection and sulfonated /1-cyclodextrin in the running buffer (01JC(B)169). 

H. Fujimoto, I. Nishino, K. Ueno and T. Umeda, Determination of the enantiomers of a new 1,4-dihydropyridine calcium antagonist in dog plasma achiral / chiral coupled high performance liquid cliromatography with electrochemical detection , 7. Pharm. Sci. 82 319-322(1993). 

Figure 13.2 MDGC-ECD chromatograms of PCB fractions from sediment samples, demonstrating the separation of the enantiomers of (a) PCB 95, (b) PCB 132, and (c) PCB 149 non-labelled peaks were not identified. Reprinted from Journal of Chromatography, A 723, A. Glausch et al, Enantioselective analysis of chiral polyclilorinated biphenyls in sediment samples by multidimensional gas cliromatography-electi on-capture detection after steam distillation-solvent exti action and sulfur removal , pp. 399-404, copyright 1996, with permission from Elsevier Science.

The origin of the remarkable stereoselectivities displayed by chiral homogeneous catalysts has occasioned much interest and speculation. It has been generally assumed, using a lock-and-key concept, that the major product enantiomer arose from a rigid preferred initial binding of the prochiral olefin with the chiral catalyst. Halpren 48) on the basis of considerable evidence, reached the opposite conclusion the predominant product enantiomer arises from the minor, less stable diastereomer of the olefin-catalyst adduct, which frequently does not accumulate in sufficient concentration to be detected. The predominant adduct is in essence a dead-end complex for it hydrogenates at a much slower rate than does the minor adduct. 

The mixture of free amino acids is reacted with OPA (Fig. 7-8) and a thiol compound. When an achiral thiol compound is used, a racemic isoindole derivative results. These derivatives from different amino acids can be used to enhance the sensitivity of fluorescence detection. Figure 7-9 shows the separation of 15 amino acids after derivatization with OPA and mercaptothiol the racemic amino acids may be separated on a reversed-phase column. If the thiol compound is unichiral, the amino acid enantiomers may be separated as the resultant diastereomeric isoindole compound in the same system. Figure 7-10 shows the separation of the same set of amino acids after derivatization with the unichiral thiol compound Wisobutyryl-L-cysteine (IBLC). 

Since electron-donating substituents at the phosphorus atom favor addition reactions over olefination reactions, addition of 9 to aldehydes leads to the exclusive formation of the silyl-pro-tected allylic alcohols 10. No reaction products arising from Wittig alkenylation could be detected. The ylides (R,S)-9 and (S.S)-9 and their enantiomers were prepared from the corresponding optically pure l-[2-(diphenylphosphino)ferrocenyl]-A,A -dimethylethanamine diastereomers 7 via the phosphonium salts 8. 

The hydrolysis of seven alkyl arenesulfinylalkanoates by the bacterium Corynebacterium equi IFO 3730 studied by Ohta and coworkers34 are recent examples of kinetic resolutions which give sulfoxides of high enantiomeric purity and in reasonable yield. Compounds 16a, 16b and 16c were recovered in 30 to 43% yield and in 90 to 97% e.e. The S enantiomers underwent hydrolysis more rapidly than the R isomers. Sulfoxide 17 was isolated in 22% yield and 96% e.e., but sulfoxide 18 was completely metabolized. Esters other than methyl gave inferior results. The acids formed upon hydrolysis, although detected, were for the most part further metabolized by the bacterium. 

The submitters report obtaining the product in 99% yield. The enantiomeric excess of the Mosher ester of 3 was measured to be 98% using a Chiralcel OD column (40% 2-propanol/hexane). This optical purity measurement substantiated the optical purity assessment made by 111 NMR studies of 3 and racemic 3 prepared using a different method3. Addition of the chiral shift reagent tris[3-(heptafluoropropylhydroxymethylene)-(+)-camphorato]europium (III) resulted in clear resolution of the respective aromatic proton signals for the two enantiomers, which was demonstrated with the racemate. Under similar conditions, NMR analysis of 3 showed that within the detectable limits of the experiment (ca. <3%), there was none of the disfavored enantiomer. 

The trisulfane molecule exists as two conformers which have been termed as cis- and trans-HzSi. While the trans-form is a helical molecule of C2 symmetry with the motif ++ (or — for the enantiomer), the cfs-form is of Q symmetry with the motif +- (identical to -+). Both forms have been detected by rotational spectroscopy [17, 45, 46]. The motif gives the order of the signs of the torsion angles at the SS bonds. The geometrical parameters [17] are presented in Table 4. The trans-isomer is by only 1 kj mol more stable than the cfs-form but the barrier to internal rotation from tmns to cis is 35 kJ mor [46]. The dipole moments were calculated by ab initio MO theory at the QCISD/TZ+P level as 0.68 D (trans) and 2.02 D (cis) [46]. For geometrical parameters of cis- and trans-trisulfane calculated at the MP2/6-311++G> > level, see [34]. 

The precision of the data is not such as to allow non-dipole interactions to be definitively ruled out, and more detailed study of this topic by careful measurement of the full angular distribution, as opposed to detection at a single angle, will be required to provide a complete probe. In the meantime a clear observation that enantiomer PECD curves have a mirror-image relationship... 

---