Enantioselective Chromatography: an Essential and Versatile Tool for the Analytical and Preparative Separation of Enantiomers

Chromatography on chiral stationary phases and electrophoresis in the presence of chiral selectors have become essential tools for the determination of enantiomeric purity in connection with synthesis and with biological studies of chiral molecules. Moreover, the chromatographic resolution of racemates on a preparative scale compels increasing recognition as alternative to 'preparing' pure enantiomers. The state-of-the-art of enantioselective chromatography in the analytical and preparative field is reviewed with particular emphasis on the achievements carried out in Switzerland

Polysaccharide Derivatives as Unique Chiral Selectors for Enantioselective Chromatography

From the beginning of the 1980s, the life science industry increasingly recognized the importance of chirality in biological interaction processes, but the methods for preparing optically pure drugs were still limited. Most of the syntheses of chiral compounds were performed starting from optically active building blocks (chiral pool), mainly from natural sources, or by resolution of the enantiomers via formation of diastereomers. In this context, there was a growing interest for enantioselective processes, such as synthetic methodologies and separation techniques for accessing optically pure substances in an effective manner. Among the separation approaches, enantioselective chromatography looked very promising and a project aiming to explore this option was started in the Central Research Laboratories of former Ciba-Geigy. This article reviews the story of this development which culminated in the discovery of highly efficient polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phases which have now become the gold standard in the world of enantioselective chromatography. It shows also how the technique of enantioselective chromatography has evolved from an analytical tool to a practical preparative technology, up to production scale

30th Franco-Belgian conference of Pharmacochemistry

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