Apparent and true enantioselectivity of single- and binary-selector chiral stationary phases in gas chromatography

Almost all gas-chromatographic chiral stationary phases (CSPs) are complex systems containing one or more chiral selector(s) dissolved in, or bonded to, an achiral solvent such as squalane or poly(dimethylsiloxane). The presence of different components in the total CSP, interacting independently with the analyte enantiomers, impairs the elucidation of enantiorecognition mechanisms and complicates the optimization of enantioseparations. In the present work a quantitative analysis of the influence of different factors on the observed enantioselectivity is performed. The parameters varied in this study were the composition of the CSP, the concentration and the enantiomeric excess of the chiral selector(s) and the presence of achiral selectors (including racemic compositions). Special attention is given to the determination of distribution and association constants, as well as apparent and true enantioseparation factors.