Separation of drug enantiomers by capillary electrophoresis: α-cyclodextrin as chiral solvating agent

Abstract

Enantiomer separation by capillary zone electrophoresis was studied for a set of 59 chiral drugs. With α-cyclodextrin as chiral solvating agent, six enantiomeric pairs could be resolved. Baseline separation was achieved for clidinium bromide, oxomemazine and tetryzoline, whereas ketamine, orphenadrine, tropicamide and others require further optimization. Aliphatic and monocyclic compounds prevail among compounds recognized by α-cyclodextrin. Statistical analysis reveals that a medium degree of migration retardation offers the best chance for successful separation.