Semi-preparative enantiomeric separation of ofloxacin by HPLC.

A direct semi-preparative high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) enantioseparation of ofloxacin was performed on chemically immobilized cyclodextrin derivative-mono (6A-azido-6A-deoxy)-per(p-chlorophenyl carbamoylated) β-CD chiral stationary phase. Conditions for semi-preparative separations were established using a 250 × 4.6 mm i.d. column and subsequently extended to a 250 × 10.0 mm i.d. column that enabled separations on a milligram scale. Optimization of the chromatographic conditions (mobile phase and column load) with respect to better efficiency, resolution and peak retention resulted in a system capable of separating up to 304 mg of (-)-(S)-ofloxacin and 56 mg of (+)-(R)-ofloxacin of the racemate over 6 h. The purities of the separated enantiomers were determined by HPLC. Moreover, both separated enantiomers were characterized by mass spectrometry; then, the absolute configuration of the products was clearly confirmed by polarimetry.