Enantioseparation of hydrochloride salts using carbon dioxide-based mobile phases with on-line polarimetric detection

Most HPLC enantioseparations of amine analytes are performed using normal-phase systems containing mobile phases of heptane with ethanol (or 2-propanol) and an amine additive. Since salt-forms of amine analytes are usually insoluble in normal-phase eluents, free-base forms are synthesized for preparative chromatography. It would be highly desirable to directly chromatograph salt forms of amine analytes using mobile phases of carbon dioxide (CO(2)) and methanol (MeOH). Such separations would be readily suitable for preparative chromatography, since most amine salts are highly soluble in MeOH. In this article, advantages are shown for the use of supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) instrumentation with tandem UV and polarimetric detection for confirming enantioseparation as well as for determining optimum preparative column injections. Examples are shown for racemic mixtures of propranolol HCl (I), thioridazine HCl (II), tramadol HCl (III), and flurbiprofen (IV), all of which resolved on Chiralpak AD-H chiral stationary phase using mobile-phase systems of CO(2) and MeOH without the use of basic or acidic additives.