KN 01 - Fundamentals of Chiral Chromatography: The Journey of Different Tweens Through a Chiral Column
KN 01 - Fundamentals of Chiral Chromatography: The Journey of Different Tweens Through a Chiral Column
Two enantiomers, i.e. the two isomers of a chiral molecule whose spatial distribution of the substituent groups on the chiral centre is different, may exhibit diverse toxicological and pharmacological properties, since biological activities and interactions are strictly stereospecific. Hence, for the correct separation, identification, and characterization of chiral molecules, more and more selective and efficient chromatographic methods are necessary. In this field, in the last decades, packing particles able to enhance kinetic performance have been developed. However, concerning chiral stationary phases, this innovation was delayed due to a series of challenges, including the lack of fundamental studies and understanding of mass transfer and chiral recognition processes [1]. Indeed, chiral recognition process is a very complex phenomenon, where very specific analyte-to-binding site chemical configuration is required. This may lead to a slow process of adsorption-desorption which contributes to worsening kinetic performance. As a result, in order to design novel and optimized methods or stationary phases for enantioseparations, a deep understanding of both mass transfer phenomena and of the thermodynamics of the process are required. Indeed, from a theoretical viewpoint, on the one hand, kinetic factors (diffusion, eddy dispersion, mass transfer resistance) directly affect the efficiency of a chromatographic separation and, on the other, thermodynamic factors (adsorption equilibria) have an impact on retention and selectivity. All these parameters can be evaluated through the construction of van Deemter curves and adsorption isotherms and the study of diffusion coefficients [2,3]. This type of works contributes to increasing our understanding of chiral separations, helping to shed light on retention and interaction mechanisms, on the one hand, and on the influence of analyte structure and mobile phase composition on retention, selectivity and efficiency, on the other.
De Luca C, Felletti S, Franchina FA, Bozza D, Compagnin G, Nosengo C, Pasti L, Cavazzini A, Catani M, J. Pharm. Biomed. Anal., 238 (2024), 115794, DOI 10.1016/j.jpba.2023.115794.
Guiochon G, Felinger A, Shirazi DG, Katti, AM, Fundamentals of Preparative and Nonlinear Chromatography (2006).
De Luca C, Compagnin G, Nosengo C, Mazzoccanti G, Gasparrini F, Cavazzini A, Catani M, Felletti S, Anal. Bioanal. Chem., 416, (2024), 1809–1820, DOI 10.1007/s00216-024-05186-z.