A model for the shuttle motions of puerarin and daidzin inside the cavity of β-cyclodextrin in aqueous acetic acid: insights from molecular dynamics simulations.

Acetic acid acts as one component of the mobile phase to influence separation of puerarin from daidzin when using β-cyclodextrin-substituted media. In this work considering an explicit acetic acid solution, host-guest complexes of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) with puerarin and daidzin were investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. Computational results indicate different shuttle motions of puerarin and daidzin inside the cavity of β-CD. A model detailing the shuttle motion was constructed, and the relationships between shuttle depth and guest rotation angles, hydrogen bonds, and host-guest interaction energies were analyzed. The results can be used to explain the chromatographic retention mechanisms of puerarin and daidzin with β-CD, and to explore the complexity of host-guest interactions involving β-CD.