Sparteine as mobile phase modifier in the chiral separation of hydrophobic basic drugs on an α 1-acid glycoprotein column

Abstract

The effect of the chiral diamine sparteine as a cationic mobile phase modifier on the retention and enantioseparation of five hydrophobic basic drugs on an α 1-acid glycoprotein column was studied. Sparteine produced good results over the whole range of its concentration (1–15 m M) in the phosphate buffer mobile phase at pH 6.0 for the selected drugs (alprenolol, propranolol, promethazine, chlorpheniramine and disopyramide). When used as a sole modifier, sparteine greatly reduced retention without significant interference in the enantioseparation of the compounds. Sparteine was also applied in combination with 2.5% of the neutral modifier 2-propanol with good results as well. This study shows sparteine's potential both as a substitute for neutral mobile phase modifier and as an auxiliary in reducing amounts of neutral modifier.