Chiral recognition and enantioseparation mechanisms in capillary electrokinetic chromatography

Abstract

This chapter deals with the basic theory of enantiomeric separations in electrokinetic chromatography (EKC) in general and with the relationships between the recognition and the separation of enantiomers in EKC, in particular. It is important to note that the dependence between recognition and separation is not as straightforward in EKC as it is in chromatographic separation techniques. Therefore, a clear understanding of these dependences is very important for the explanation of experimentally observed results, as well as for a design of new powerful separation systems, technologies, and materials. Cyclodextrins (CDs) are mainly discussed as chiral selectors not only because the author has a long-term experience of working with these multifunctional macrocycles but also because CDs belong to the most widely used chiral selectors in EKC. In addition, these materials are quite well-characterized molecules of medium size. In addition, CDs are used for separation of enantiomers almost in all analytical separation techniques, as well as for determination of the enantiomeric excess in nonseparation techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. This chapter does not address applications of chiral EKC in chemistry, pharmaceutical and biomedical, environmental, and food analyses. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.