Zwitterionic chiral stationary phases based on cinchona and chiral sulfonic acids for the direct stereoselective separation of amino acids and other amphoteric compounds.

An extensive series of free amino acids and analogs were directly resolved into enantiomers (and stereoisomers where appropriate) by HPLC on zwitterionic chiral stationary phases (Chiralpak ZWIX(+) and Chiralpak ZWIX(-)). The interaction and chiral recognition mechanisms were based on the synergistic double ion-paring process between the analyte and the chiral selectors. The chiral separation and elution order were found to be predictable for primary α-amino acids with apolar aliphatic side chains. A systematic investigation was undertaken to gain an insight into the influence of the structural features on the enantiorecognition. The presence of polar and/or aromatic groups in the analyte structure is believed to tune the double ion-paring equilibrium by the involvement of the secondary interaction forces such as hydrogen bonding, Van der Waals forces and π-π stacking in concert with steric parameters. The ZWIX chiral columns were able to separate enantiomers and stereoisomers of various amphoteric compounds with no need for precolumn derivatization. Column switching between ZWIX(+) and ZWIX(-) is believed to be an instrumental tool to reverse or control the enantiomers elution order, due to the complementarity of the applied chiral selectors.