Green high-performance liquid chromatography enantioseparation of lansoprazole using a cellulose-based chiral stationary phase under ethanol/water mode.

A simple and environmentally friendly reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method for the separation of the enantiomers of lansoprazole has been developed. The chromatographic resolution was carried out on the cellulose-based Chiralpak IC-3 chiral stationary phase using a green and low-toxicity ethanol-aqueous mode. The effects of water content in the mobile phase and column temperature on the retention of the enantiomers of lansoprazole and its chiral and achiral related substances have been carefully investigated. A mixed-mode hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography and reversed-phase retention mechanism operating on the IC-3 chiral stationary phase allowed us to achieve simultaneous enantioselective and chemoselective separations in water-rich conditions. The enantiomers of lansoprazole were baseline resolved with a mobile phase consisting of ethanol/water 50:50 without any interference coming from chiral and achiral impurities within 10 min.