Resolution of the stereoisomers of baclofen by high performance liquid chromatography

The GABA analogue baclofen [3-(p-chlorophenyl)-4-aminobutanoic acid] has stereospecific actions on the peripheral and central nervous systems. This paper describes the resolution of tritium-labelled baclofen by high performance liquid chromatography on a reverse-phase C18 column using a chiral mobile phase. The method, which may have general application to certain other GABA analogues, affords optically pure (+)- and (-)-baclofen labelled with tritium to high specific activity suitable for ligand binding and other neurochemical studies.