Cyclodextrin-NH-MIL-53 open tubular stationary phase for capillary electrochromatography enantioseparation

A novel chiral group functionalized metal-organic framework, Cyclodextrin-NH-MIL-53, was synthesized and modified on the inner wall of a capillary column via a post-synthetic process. The prepared chiral metal-organic framework was utilized as a chiral capillary stationary phase and used in an open-tubular capillary electrochromatography method to enantioseparate several racemic amino acids. Excellent enantioseparation of five pairs of enantiomers was obtained in this chiral separation system (Resolutions of D/L-Alanine = 16.844, D/L-Cysteine = 3.617, D/L-Histidine = 9.513, D/L-Phenylalanine = 8.133, and D/L-Tryptophan = 2.778). The prepared Cyclodextrin-NH-MIL-53 and the Cyclodextrin-NH-MIL-53-based capillary columns were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourie-transform infrared spectroscopy, and circular dichroism. The chiral capillary electrochromatography conditions, such as separation conditions, amount of Cyclodextrin-NH-MIL-53, and electroosmotic flow, were optimized. This research is estimated to present a novel insight and method for the design and use of metal-organic framework-based capillaries for enantioseparation.