Vinylpyrrolidine-beta-cyclodextrin copolymer: a novel chiral selector for capillary electrophoresis.

The synthesis and characterization of a novel polymer consisting of an alkyl backbone and pendant beta-cyclodextrin units, obtained by radical copolymerization of vinylpyrrolidone and methacryloyl-beta-cyclodextrin (PVP-beta-CD), was reported. The ability of this copolymer to act as a capillary electrophoresis (CE) chiral selector was investigated in the separation of a mixture of basic drugs. The influence of polymeric cyclodextrin concentration, temperature, and pH on the separation of the test analytes was assessed and the advantage of using the polymeric selector over native beta-cyclodextrin was demonstrated.