Ligand exchange capillary electrophoresis by cyclodextrin derivatives, a powerful tool for enantiomeric separations.

Five pure CD derivatives synthesized in our laboratory were used as chiral selectors in the presence of copper(II) ion. Three enantiomeric pairs of amino acids were submitted to separation experiments in CE, by exploiting the ligand exchange mechanism. The results obtained in the investigated systems, together with those of the analogous systems previously studied, clearly show the usefulness of this technique in chiral separations. By comparing the ligand exchange CE results with potentiometric results, either reported elsewhere or studied here for the first time (system Cu/CDampy/tyrosine), it has been possible to rationalise the separation results. The importance of the availability of pure selectors, and to characterise them both spectroscopically and thermodynamically is discussed.