Use of evaporative light scattering detector in the detection and quantification of enantiomeric mixtures by HPLC.

Routinely used in our laboratories at analytical scale, an evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD) has proved to be versatile in the detection of enantiomeric resolution using chiral stationary phases by HPLC. Though this kind of detector has been widely used in various domains, its application in enantiomeric resolution has not been discussed in the literature and is found to have very specific features especially in the quantitative perspective. In contrast with the UV detection, the peak area from ELSD for both enantiomers of a racemic mixture may not be the same. This complicates the assessment of the enantiomeric purity of unknown samples. This current work deals with some practical aspects in the detection of enantiomers and in accurate quantitative determination of enantiomeric purity by ELSD. Effects of analyte nature (more precisely molecular weight and volatility), peak shape and peak shape difference between enantiomers on the quantitative integration by ELSD are discussed in connection with the UV-detection results. The calibration for quantitative enantiomeric analysis and its effectiveness are demonstrated.