Enantiomeric analysis of simendan on polysaccharide-based stationary phases by polar organic solvent chromatography

Herein, the enantiomeric separation of simendan by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection using polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phases in polar organic mode is described. Three chiral columns (Chiralpak AD-H, Chiralcel OD-H, and Chiralpak AS) were screened using pure methanol and acetonitrile without additives under isocratic conditions. A reversed elution order was observed on the Chiralpak AD-H column when the methanol content in the mobile phase (methanol-acetonitrile mixtures) was above 10%, whereby levosimendan eluted prior to dextrosimendan. Further, it was found that increasing temperature effectively improved the enantioresolution on the Chiralpak AD-H column. Van't Hoff analysis was performed to evaluate the contribution of enthalpy and entropy to the chiral discrimination process. The best enantioseparation (α = 3.00, Rs = 12.85) was obtained on the Chiralpak AD-H column with methanol as the mobile phase at 40°C. Thus, a quantitative method for the resolution of dextrosimendan was established and validated, which could be used as a reference for the determination of dextrosimendan in levosimendan products.