Chiral zwitterionic stationary phases based on Cinchona alkaloids and dipeptides - design, synthesis and application in chiral separation.

Chiral resolution of polar organic compounds such as amino acids and peptides represents an important chromatographic task due to increasing significance of natural species, which play important signaling and regulatory roles in the living organisms. Despite the number of available chiral stationary phases, this task remains challenging, since not many of the commercially available systems are capable to resolve non-derivatized zwitterionic species. In this study, we present a target-oriented design of a new class of chiral selectors. Pursuing the goal to separate amino acids, and especially short peptides, we have combined Cinchona alkaloids - quinine and quinidine - with three different biogenic dipeptides. We have synthesized six different chiral stationary phases, with selector loading of ∼200 µmol g-1, and tested their chiral recognition capabilities for acidic, basic and zwitterionic analytes using various mobile phases. We have observed that all chiral stationary phases retain the chiral anion exchange capability known for commercially available Cinchona-based columns leading to baseline or partial resolution of six out of ten analytes. The performance in chiral resolution of basic analytes is not optimum due to the weak cation exchange character of the peptidic residue. However, we report on encouraging results in the chiral resolution of short peptides, for which, depending on their structure, we see the chiral resolution of up to three stereoisomers (from four possible) in a preliminary screening.

Retention mechanisms of rasagiline and its analogues on superficially porous particle vancomycin- and teicoplanin-based chiral stationary phases.

Retention and separation of enantiomers of amine derivatives of indane and tetralin (rasagiline and its analogues) on chiral stationary phases (CSPs) Chiral-T and Chiral-V with teicoplanin and vancomycin antibiotics grafted onto superficially porous silica particles under conditions of reversed-phase and polar organic chromatography were studied. The mobile phases (MP) were water-methanol and acetonitrile-methanol solvents modified with triethylamine-acetic acid buffer. The effects of molecular structure and physical properties of the analytes on enantioselective retention are discussed. The retention mechanism is hypothesized to involve the ion-ion attraction between the positively charged amino group of an analyte and the carboxylate anion of either antibiotic. The binding occurs outside of the antibiotic's aglycon basket that accounts for relatively low enantioselectivity observed. The presence of a large substitute at the analyte's amino group complicates enantiorecognition. The effect of the MP solvent composition on retention and enantioseparation was investigated. It is a complex phenomenon combined of different oppositely directed influences that resulted in different shapes, increasing, decreasing, or U-shaped, of the retention factor vs. composition dependences. A model taking into account the interaction of both solvents of a binary MP with both an analyte and an adsorption site was successfully applied to approximate a majority of the studied systems. Pros and cons of the model are discussed.

Elucidation of retention mechanism of dipeptides on a ristocetin A-based chiral stationary phase using a combination of chromatographic and molecular simulation techniques.

Two chiral stationary phases virtually reproducing the Nautilus-R column were modeled in silico to study the enantiorecognition mechanism of some selected dipeptides, taking into consideration the two different anchoring alternatives to the silica layer involving the two ristocetin A amino groups. A mobile phase composed of water-methanol (40:60, v/v) was included in the system. The analyses of the trajectories supported the experimental L(LL)

Chiral separation of dipeptides on Cinchona-based zwitterionic chiral stationary phases under buffer-free reversed-phase conditions.

Chiral zwitterion ion exchangers represent efficient chiral stationary phases for stereoselective resolution of various analytes including chiral acids, bases, and zwitterions. In this contribution, we have focused on utilization of chiral zwitterionic sorbents, denoted as ZWIX (+A) and ZWIX (-A). These are analogical chiral systems to commercially available columns, Chiralpak ZWIX (+) and Chiralpak ZWIX (-), which are usually operated with buffered mobile phases. In this contribution, we have studied the enantiorecognition power of the ZWIX (+A) and ZWIX (-A) columns on a series of dipeptides operated under buffer-free reversed-phase conditions. Retention characteristics of zwitterionic dipeptides are discussed using an electrostatically driven adsorption model, which provides a good fit with both monotonous and U-shaped curves.

Enantioselective adsorption dynamics of leucyl-leucine in a Chirobiotic R column.

The dynamics of adsorption of the Leu-Leu stereoisomers in a chromatographic column packed with the Chirobiotic R chiral stationary phase bearing grafted antibiotic ristocetin A was studied by means of measurement and analysis of van Deemter plots. Similar measurements were carried out with weakly retained Gly-Gly for the sake of comparison. The bulk diffusion coefficients of the investigated dipeptides were also determined. It is found that the van Deemter plots of both the Leu-Leu stereoisomers and Gly-Gly have an uncommon convex-upward shape. Besides, the van Deemter B coefficients for the Leu-Leu stereoisomers, but not for Gly-Gly, have unusually high values. It is suggested that a high transcolumn contribution to eddy dispersion, which turned out to be enantioselective, accounts for these findings. Adsorption kinetics of all the dipeptides considered is relatively slow, the adsorption rate constant (kads) being of order of magnitude 20-60 s-1. kads does not depend on the configuration of Leu-Leu stereoisomers, although their affinity toward the chiral selector depends on this factor. This supports the above hypothesis that eddy dispersion is mainly responsible for the observed peculiarities in the dynamic behavior of dipeptides, and adsorption kinetics has secondary importance in this phenomenon.

Enantioselective retention mechanisms of dipeptides on antibiotic-based chiral stationary phases. II. Effect of the methanol content in the mobile phase.

Effect of mobile phase (water-methanol) composition on the enantioseparation of dipeptides on the chiral stationary phase Chirobiotic R was investigated using Ala-Ala, Leu-Leu, Gly-Leu, and Leu-Gly as case studies. The lipophilicity of dipeptides was found to be an essential factor in the dependence of their retention on the methanol percentage, the retention factor of lipophobic dipeptides increasing monotonously and that of lipophilic dipeptides changing according to an asymmetric U-shaped trajectory as methanol concentration increases. The behavior of enantioselectivity as a function of the methanol content also depends on the lipophilicity of dipeptide. For lipophilic Leu-Leu, the dependence has a dome-like shape, and for more lipophobic dipeptides, Ala-Ala and Gly-Leu, it is an increasing function of the methanol concentration. The importance of solvation equilibria in the bulk liquid and on the surface of the stationary phase for the total retention is discussed from the thermodynamic point of view. Special consideration is given to the adsorption of the water-methanol mixture on the surface of the Chirobiotic R stationary phase.

Enantioselective retention mechanisms of dipeptides on antibiotic-based chiral stationary phases: Leucyl-leucine, glycyl-leucine, and leucyl-glycine as case studies.

Chromatographic behaviors of dipeptides consisting of leucine and glycine were studied on two antibiotic-based chiral stationary phases (CSPs) with teicoplanin (Chirobiotic T) or ristocetin A (Chirobiotic R) as chiral selectors under reversed-phase conditions. The effect of mobile phase pH on the retention of stereoisomers of dipeptides was investigated and thermodynamic characteristic of adsorption were measured at different pH values. It was shown that the retention of dipeptides depends on the ionization of their molecules in the mobile phase, as different ionic forms have different affinity towards antibiotic selectors. Enantioselectivity of the bound antibiotics with respect to Leu-Leu stereoisomers was achieved via steric modulation of ion-ion interactions between the solute and the selector, while in the case of Gly-Leu enantiomers non-ionic interactions such as hydrogen bonding might play the key role. In both cases, the dipeptides terminating in D-Leu were retained stronger than their optical antipodes, whereas the enantiomers of Leu-Gly were hardly separated. The regression analysis of the retention data applying the Horvath-Melander-Molnar model revealed that different types of enantioselectivity resides in particular ionic forms of the compounds: cations are responsible for the separation of diastereomeric pairs and the anionic and zwitterionic forms have a universal enantioselectivity on the Chirobiotic T CSP, and the anions and zwitterions are the enantioselective forms for the Chirobiotic R CSP.

Unusual van Deemter plots of optical isomers on a chiral brush-type liquid chromatography column.

Unusual dynamic behavior of the enantiomers of 9-bromo-11b-(tert-butyl)-2,3,6,11b-tetrahydrooxazolo[3',2':1,5]pyrrolo[3,4-b]quinoline-5,11-dione (I) was observed on a Nautilus-R column packed with silica grafted with antibiotic ristocetin. It consisted in (i) antibatic behavior of the van Deemter plots of the enantiomers and (ii) high and strongly enantiomer dependent values of the A- and B-terms of the van Deemter equation. Although rare, such a pattern has been found earlier in chiral chromatography, with all reported cases limited to brush-type chiral stationary phases. Adsorption dynamics in this system was studied by means of the moment method and the peak parking technique; hydrodynamic properties of the column were explored by using unretained tracers. It was shown that the peculiar shape of the van Deemter curves for the enantiomers of I is conditioned by imperfect packing of the stationary phase, which result in high transcolumn eddy dispersion, and by slow adsorption/desorption kinetics. It was proven that the whole void volume of the column available to an eluent is not accessible to the studied analyte because it cannot penetrate the space between neighboring grafted ligands. Its mass transfer in pores is also affected by the fact that the stagnant layer of the binary water-acetonitrile mobile phase differs in composition from the bulk liquid due to preferential adsorption of water that influences the apparent molecular diffusivity of solutes. An effect of the structures of analyte and chiral selector on the adsorption kinetics is also briefly discussed.

Chiral separation and modeling of quinolones on teicoplanin macrocyclic glycopeptide antibiotics CSP.

New chiral high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the enantiomeric resolution of quinolones is developed and described. The column used was Chirobiotic T (150 × 4.6 mm, 5.0 µm). Three mobile phases used were MeOH:ACN:Water:TEA (70:10:20:0.1%), (60:30:10:0.1%), and (50:30:20:0.1%). The flow rate of the mobile phases was 1.0 mL/min with UV detection at different wavelengths. The values of retention, resolution, and separation factors ranged from 1.5 to 6.0, 1.80 to 2.25, and 2.86 to 6.0, respectively. The limit of detection and quantification ranged from 4.0 to 12 ng and 40 to 52 ng, respectively. The modeling studies indicated strong interactions of R-enantiomers with teicoplanin chiral selector than S-enantiomers. The supra molecular mechanism of the chiral recognition was established by modeling and chromatographic studies. It was observed that hydrogen bondings and π-π interactions are the major forces for chiral separation. The present chiral HPLC method may be used for enantiomeric resolution of quinolones in any matrices.

Van't Hoff analysis in chiral chromatography.

The present review discusses the theory and application of van't Hoff analysis in chiral chromatography, with main focus on liquid chromatography. The topics considered include the physical meaning of van't Hoff equation's parameters, interpretation of thermodynamic data in terms of retention and enantioseparation mechanisms, abnormal behavior of van't Hoff plots, and best practices to avoid biased results.

Chiral separation of quinolones by liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis.

The quinolones are derivatives of oxoquinolines and mostly known for their antibacterial and antiviral activities. Many quinolones are chiral compounds having asymmetric centers and important due to their enantioselective biological activities. In order to study the biological activities of quinolone enantiomers, to control the manufacturing of homochiral drugs and to prepare necessary quantities of pure enantiomers for preclinical or clinical trials, respective chiral separation methods are urgently needed. In this context, the present review discusses chromatographic and electrophoretic methods for the enantioseparation of chiral quinolones and provides some useful information on their physical and pharmaceutical properties. The drawbacks of currently used techniques are revealed and ways to overcome them are outlined. Moreover, recommendations for an optimal choice of a separation protocol are given.

Chiral HPLC Separation and Modeling of Four Stereomers of DL-Leucine-DL-Tryptophan Dipeptide on Amylose Chiral Column.

Chiral high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation and modeling of four stereomers of DL-leucine-tryptophan DL-dipeptide on AmyCoat-RP column are described. The mobile phase applied was ammonium acetate (10 mM)-methanol-acetonitrile (50:5:45, v/v). The flow rate of the mobile phases was 0.8 mL/min with UV detection at 230 nm. The values of retention factors for LL-, DD-, DL-, and LD- stereomers were 2.25, 3.60, 5.00, and 6.50, respectively. The values of separation and resolution factors were 1.60, 1.39, and 1.30 and 7.76, 8.05, and 7.19. The limits of detection and quantitation were ranging from 1.0-2.3 and 5.6-14.0 µg/mL. The simulation studies established the elution orders and the mechanism of chiral recognition. It was seen that π-π connections and hydrogen bondings were the main forces for enantiomeric resolution. The reported chiral HPLC method may be applied for the enantiomeric separation of DL-leucine-DL-tryptophan in unknown matrices. Chirality 28:642-648, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Advances in Nanocarriers for Anticancer Drugs Delivery.

Cancer is the most dangerous disease to haunt the mankind in the world today. Generally, the overall cancer mortality rates are similar in both the sexes. The reasons for most of these deaths are inefficacy and failure of the current methods of treatments or the unavailability of treatment options. The researchers of the world are actively integrating nanotechnology of treating of various cancers. The development of smart nanocarriers is one of the most important innovations in this direction. The nanocarriers of the different materials are being developed to improve the efficacy of current treatments. The present article describes the role of nanotechnology in cancer treatment emphasizing cancer nanotherapy, nanocarriers for drug delivery, types and the mechanisms of the nanocarriers. Besides, the efforts are made to discuss the recent advances in the nanocarriers, current challenges and the future prospective.

Validated chiral high performance liquid chromatography separation method and simulation studies of dipeptides on amylose chiral column.

Chiral resolution of dl-alanine-dl-tyrosine and dl-leucine-dl-phenylalanine dipeptides was achieved on AmyCoat-RP column. The mobile phase used for dl-alanine-dl-tyrosine was acetonitrile-ammonium acetate (10mM, pH 6.0) [50:50, v/v]. It was acetonitrile-methanol-ammonium acetate (10mM; pH adjusted to 4.5 with glacial acetic acid) [50:20:30, v/v] for dl-leucine-dl-phenylalanine. The flow rate of the mobile phases was 0.8mL/min with UV detection at 275nm. The values of retention factors for ll-, dd-, dl- and ld-stereomers of dl-alanine-dl-tyrosine were 1.71, 2.86, 5.43 and 9.42, respectively. The values of separation and resolution factors were 1.67, 1.90 and 1.73 and 2.88, 6.43 and 7.90, respectively. Similarly, these values for dl-leucine-dl-phenylalanine stereomers were 1.50, 2.88, 3.50 and 4.07 (retention factors), 1.92, 1.22 and 1.62 (separation factors) and 2.67, 1.55 and 2.30 (resolution factors). The limits of detections and quantitation were ranged from 2.03 to 6.40 and 6.79 to 21.30µg/mL, respectively. The modeling studies were in agreement with the elution orders. The mechanism of chiral recognition was established by modeling and chromatographic studies. It was observed that hydrogen bondings and π-π interactions are the major forces for chiral separation.

Adsorption of aqueous organic mixtures on a chiral stationary phase with bound antibiotic eremomycin.

The adsorption of two typical hydro-organic mobile phases, with methanol and acetonitrile as the organic component, on an antibiotic based chiral stationary phase (CSP) Nautilus-E was studied by the minor perturbation method. In both cases, the excess adsorption of water was positive over a wide range of concentrations from 0 to ∼75 or 90 mol% for MeOH or MeCN containing mobile phases, respectively. Such hydrophilic properties of the CSP were attributed to multiple polar functional groups of the chiral ligand and to the residual silanol groups of the silica support. The adsorbed phase was found to be thinner for H2O-MeOH (∼1.1Å) and thicker for H2O-MeCN (∼9.4Å). The measurements of the column hold-up volume by different methods allowed us to suggest a model of the adsorbed phase consisting of the volume between bound chiral selectors inaccessible to large size molecules and of the stagnant layer of the mobile phase adsorbed on the external surface of the chiral selectors.

Advances in chiral separations of small peptides by capillary electrophoresis and chromatography.

Many chemical and biological processes are controlled by the stereochemistry of small polypeptides (di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, hexapeptides, etc). The biological importance of peptide stereoisomers is of great value. Therefore, the chiral resolution of peptides is an important issue in biological and medicinal sciences and drug industries. The chiral resolutions of peptide racemates have been discussed with the use of capillary electrophoresis and chromatographic techniques. The various chiral selectors used were polysaccharides, cyclodextrins, Pirkle types, macrocyclic antibiotics, crown ethers, imprinted polymers, etc. The stereochemistry of dipeptides is also discussed. Besides, efforts are made to explain the chiral recognition mechanisms, which will be helpful in understanding existing and developing new stereoselective analyses. Future perspectives of enantiomeric resolution are also predicted. Finally, the review concludes with the demand of enantiomeric resolution of all naturally occurring and synthetic peptides.

Effect of competing binding modes on retention in chromatography and capillary electrophoresis. A theoretical consideration.

A mathematical formalism has been developed to describe equilibrium in a system involving a single selector and a selectand molecule capable of binding to this selector by different modes. The generalization of this model to a multiselector system has also been considered. Applications of the developed equations in chromatography and CE are discussed.

Adsorption models in chiral chromatography.

The review delivers the analysis of the literature data on adsorption equilibrium in chiral systems. Chiral adsorbents usually comprise several groups of nonselective and enantioselective active sites. Each group may be heterogeneous in itself. A dynamic equilibrium between different conformations of chiral selectors, nonstoichiometric adsorption, and various secondary equilibria also contribute to the complexity of the phenomenon. In this context, the practice of the use and the limitations of the conventional single-site and two-site models of chiral stationary phase were considered. Special attention was given to problems of the interpretation of experimental results and rational approaches to the selection of physically meaningful adsorption models. The effect of chirality on mass transfer kinetics was also considered, although available information is limited and sometimes ambiguous in order to make solid conclusions.

Chromatographic retention and thermodynamics of adsorption of dipeptides on a chiral crown ether stationary phase.

The enantioselective adsorption of several dipeptides on the crown ether-based stationary phase ChiroSil RCA(+) was studied by means of the linear chromatography method. The retention of analytes was measured with acidified water-methanol mobile phases with varied concentration of methanol (from 60 to 90%, v/v) at different temperatures. Thermodynamic characteristics of adsorption were determined and analyzed applying extrathermodynamic relationships. A considerable difference in adsorption mechanisms of dipeptides with a chiral and achiral N-terminal fragment was proved. An explanation to this fact was proposed assuming that the enantiorecognition of the dipeptides of the first type occurred through the interaction of side groups of the N-terminus with the chiral cavity formed by the crown ether ring. The enantiorecognition of the dipeptides of the second type occurs through the interaction of the C-terminal residue with the side groups of the crown ether moiety. The study also demonstrates how extrathermodynamic concepts can be used for obtaining additional information about retention mechanisms from a limited amount of chromatographic data.