Liquid chromatographic enantioseparation of beta-blocking agents with (1R,2R)-1,3-diacetoxy-1-(4-nitrophenyl)-2-propyl isothiocyanate as chiral derivatizing agent.

The applicability of (1R,2R)-1,3-diacetoxy-1-(4-nitrophenyl)-2-propyl isothiocyanate [(R,R)-DANI] as a recently developed chiral derivatizing agent for the enantioseparation of a series of beta-blockers is described. The thiourea diastereomers formed were analyzed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, mixtures of water and methanol or acetonitrile being used for elution. Conditions of derivatizations (temperature, reagent excess and reaction time) were optimized, and the effects of organic modifiers on the retention and separation were investigated; the diastereomers could readily be baseline separated with methanol-containing mobile phases with resolutions between 1.58 and 2.72.