The Study of Separation and Thermodynamics of Adsorption of the Enantiomers of Ethofumasate on a Modified Cellulose

Abstract

Cellulose and cellulose derivatives are biopolymers that are often used as stationary phases for the separation of enantiomers. Describing the mechanism of such separations is a difficult task due to the complexity of these phases. In the present study, direct enantiomeric resolution of ethofumesate has been achieved, using hexane as the mobile phase with various alcoholic modifiers on cellulose tri(3,5‐dimethylphenylcarbamate) chiral stationary phase (CDMPC CSP). The influence of the mobile phase composition and the column temperature on the chiral separation was studied. It was found that at a constant temperature and within a certain range of alcohol modifier concentration, the conformation of the polymeric phase, and the selective adsorption sites were not affected by alcohol modifier concentration. The type and the concentration of the alcoholic modifiers influenced the retention factor and the separation factor. Ethofumesate gained the best enantioseparation using sec‐butanol as alcoholic modifier at 25°C with α‐value 1.70. And the separation factor decreased with the increase of the column temperature. The van't Hoff plots were linear (R 2>0.96) for ethofumesate from 25°C to 50°C. That showed the enantioselective interactions do not change over the temperature range studied. Furthermore the values of ΔH° and ΔS° were both negative, which indicated an enthalpy‐driven separation. And the possible chiral recognition mechanism of the analyte and CDMPC was discussed. It was found that hydrogen bonding plays an important role on enantioseparation of CDMPC CSP. The inclusion and fitness of solute shape in the chiral cavity significantly contributed to the enantioseparation of solute.