Enantiomers, separation process

Fig. 5-13. Schematic representation of the Akzo Nobel enantiomer separation process. Two liquids containing the opposing enantiomers of the chiral selector (FI and K) are flowing countercurrently through the column (4) and are kept separated by the liquid membrane (3). The racemic mixture to be separated is added to the middle of the system (1), and the separated enantiomers are recovered from the outflows of the column (2a and 2b) [64],...

In spite of important advances in asymmetric synthesis, chiral compounds cannot all be obtained in a pure state by asymmetric synthesis. As a result, enantiomer separation remains an important technique for obtaining optically active materials. Although asymmetric synthesis is a once-only procedure, an enantiomer separation process can be repeated until the optically pure sample is obtained. 

The enantiomer separation with the use of membranes is a promising technique, more convenient than traditional methods, due to its high processing capacity, continuous operation mode and low energy consumption allowing its use in a large scale enantiomer separation processes. Supported liquid membranes show high chiral selectivity, however they are not stable on the contrary, solid membranes with immobilized chiral carrier polymer are stable and therefore able to a durable enantiomer separation [100]. 

Volume inefficient chiral chromatography required to deliver a single enantiomer Separation at final API necessitated processing excess material through the synthesis to give the desired amount... 

FIGURE 1.3 Enantiomer separation of the chiral acid iV-acetyl-a-allyl-glycine on CHIR-ALPAK QN-AX (a) and CHIRALPAK QD-AX (b) by an enantioselective anion-exchange retention process. Chromatographic conditions Column dimension, 150 x 4 mm ID eluent, 1 % (v/v) glacial acetic acid in methanol flow rate, 1 mLmin temperature, 25°C detection, UV 230 nm. (Reproduced from M. Lammerhofer, et ah, Nachrichten aus der Chemie, 50 1037 (2002). With permission.)... 

The broad and nearly universal applicability of the cinchonan carbamate CSPs for chiral acid separations is further corroborated by successful enantiomer separations of acidic solutes having axial and planar chirality, respectively. For example, Tobler et al. [124] could separate the enantiomers of atropisomeric axially chiral 2 -dodecyloxy-6-nitrobiphenyl-2-carboxylic acid on an C-9-(tert-butylcarbamoyl)quinine-based CSP in the PO mode with a-value of 1.8 and Rs of 9.1. This compound is stereolabile and hence at elevated temperatures the two enantiomers were interconverted during the separation process on-column revealing characteristic plateau regions between the separated enantiomer peaks. A stopped-flow method was utilized to determine the kinetic rate constants and apparent rotational energy barriers for the interconversion process in the presence of the CSP. Apparent activation energies (i.e., energy barriers for interconversion) were found to be 93.0 and 94.6 kJ mol for the (-)- and (-l-)-enantiomers, respectively. 

In simple experiments, particulate silica-supported CSPs having various cin-chonan carbamate selectors immobilized to the surface were employed in an enantioselective liquid-solid batch extraction process for the enantioselective enrichment of the weak binding enantiomer of amino acid derivatives in the liquid phase (methanol-0.1M ammonium acetate buffer pH 6) and the stronger binding enantiomer in the solid phase [64]. For example, when a CSP with the 6>-9-(tcrt-butylcarbamoyl)-6 -neopentoxy-cinchonidine selector was employed at an about 10-fold molar excess as related to the DNB-Leu selectand which was dissolved as a racemate in the liquid phase specified earlier, an enantiomeric excess of 89% could be measured in the supernatant after a single extraction step (i.e., a single equilibration step). This corresponds to an enantioselectivity factor of 17.7 (a-value in HPLC amounted to 31.7). Such a batch extraction method could serve as enrichment technique in hybrid processes such as in combination with, for example, crystallization. In the presented study, it was however used for screening of the enantiomer separation power of a series of CSPs. 

Molecular imprinting is a special polymerization technique making use of molecular recognition [18] consisting in the formation ofa cross-linked polymer around an organic molecule which serves as a template. An imprinted active site capable of binding is created after removal of the template. This process can be applied to create effective chromatographic stationary phases for enantiomers separation. An example of such a sensor is presented in Section 6.3.2.3. 

Kinetic resolution. Kinetic resolution is a separation process based on the different rates of the transformation of the enantiomers into certain products under the influence of chiral reagents or catalysts. In recent years the use of enzyme-catalyzed enantio-selective hydrolysis of chiral esters has attracted much attention (3). A large rate difference in the transformation of the starting enantiomers is an important criteria for this technology to be of practical use. 

One possibility to separate the enantiomers of rac- 1-phenylethanamine is to form diastereomeric salts with an enantiomerically pure chiral acid, e.g. (R,R) tartaric acid or (S)-2-hydroxysuccinic acid. These can be separated from each other by recrystallisation as a consequence of their different solubilities. Note, however, that the separation process is not complete at this stage since the amines are now present as salts. The separated salts must be treated with a strong base, e.g. aqueous sodium hydroxide, to convert them back to the free amines which can then be extracted into an organic solvent. After drying the extract distillation of the solvent leaves the pure amine. 

The process of separating the enantiomers of a racemic mixture is called a resolution. To accomplish this task, the environment must be made chiral so that the enantiomers have different properties. These different properties can then be employed in the separation process. 

Early in this chapter, we said that most of the molecules in nature are chiral, arid that Nature usually produces these molecules as single enantiomers. We ve talked about the amino acids, the sugars, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and tartaric acid—all compounds that can be isolated from natural sources as single enantiomers. On the other hand, in the lab, if we make chiral compounds from achiral starting materials, we are doomed to get racemic mixtures. So how do chemists ever isolate compounds as single enantiomers, other than by extracting them from natural sources We ll consider this question in much more detail in Chapter 45, but here we will look at the simplest way using nature s enantiomerically pure compounds to help us separate the components of a racemic mixture into its two enantiomers. This process is called resolution. 

Hiihnerfuss, H., Chromatographic enantiomer separation of chiral xenobiotics and their metabolites A versatile tool for process shidies in marine and terrestrial ecosystems Chemosphere 2000, 40, 913-919. 

The first method of enantiomeric separation by direct crystallization is the mechanical technique use by Pasteur, where he separated the enan-tiomorphic crystals that were simultaneously formed while the residual mother liquor remained racemic. Enantiomer separation by this particular method can be extremely time consuming, and not possible to perform unless the crystals form with recognizable chiral features (such as well-defined hemihedral faces). Nevertheless, this procedure can be a useful means to obtain the first seed crystals required for a scale-up of a direct crystallization resolution process. When a particular system has been shown to be a conglomerate, and the crystals are not sufficiently distinct so as to be separated, polarimetry or circular dichroism spectroscopy can often be used to establish the chirality of the enantiomeric solids. 

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