Use of poly(sodium oleyl-L-leucylvalinate) surfactant for the separation of chiral compounds in micellar electrokinetic chromatography.

A chiral amino acid-based monomeric and polymeric surfactant, sodium oleyl-L-leucylvalinate) (L-SOLV) and poly(sodium oleyl-L-leucylvalinate) (poly-L-SOLV) were synthesized and used for chiral separations in micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC). Poly-L-SOLV was used successfully in the separation of various enantiomers of neutral, acidic, and basic analytes such as 1,1'-bi-2-napthol, 1,1'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diamine, benzoin, hydrobenzoin, benzoin methylether, warfarin, and coumachlor obtaining well-resolved peaks but with only partial separation of temazepam. In addition, the atropisomer 1,1'-binaphthyl-2, 2'-dihydrogen phosphate was chosen to study the applicability of the polymeric surfactant over a wide range of parameters such as concentration, temperature, voltage, and pH. The most striking characteristic of this new surfactant is its high hydrophobicity. It is favorable to interactions with hydrophobic chiral analytes, and thus may provide better chiral recognition for the compounds.