High-performance liquid chromatography separation of enantiomers of mandelic acid and its analogs on a chiral stationary phase.

The enantiomers of mandelic acid and its analogs have been chromatographically separated on a chiral stationary phase (CSP) derived from 4-(3,5-dinitrobenzamido) tetrahydrophenanthrene. The rationale of separations of these compounds is discussed with respect to the method development for determining enantiomeric purity and possibility of obtaining enantiomerically pure materials by high-pressure liquid chromatography. The relationship of analyte structure to the extent of enantiomeric separation has been examined and separation factors (alpha) are presented for various groups of structurally related compounds. Chiral recognition models have been suggested to account for the observed separations. These models provide mechanistic insights into the chiral recognition process. Copyright 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.