Diversity oriented high-throughput screening of 1,3,4-oxadiazole modified chlorophenylureas and halogenobenzamides by HPLC with peptidomimetic calixarene-bonded stationary phases.

Retention profiles in series of the neutral and highly hydrophobic 1,3,4-oxadiazoles containing chlorophenylurea and halogenobenzamide moiety and indicating analgesic activity were determined in the isocratic standard- and narrow-bore HPLC systems employing, respectively, various octadecylsilica and different calixarene bonded stationary phases. When acetonitrile - 2.65 mM phosphoric acid (55 : 45, %, v/v), pH* 3.25, mobile phase was applied retention of these compounds increased with decline of their overall hydrophobicity according to the general preference of more polar compounds by calixarene cavity in time of its non-specific host-guest supramolecular interactions with halogenated substances. The size of calixarene nanocavity and its upper-rim substitution did not change the observed retention order, resolution and selectivity of separation for oxadiazoles. Compared to the retention on the non-end-capped and the highly-end-capped octadecylsilica HPLC column a most improved separation of some regioisomers of halogenated 1,3,4-oxadiazoles were observed on both used calixarene-type HPLC supports. In addition, preliminary data on the self-assembled supramolecular crystal structure of exemplary 1,3,4-oxadiazolchlorophenylurea with cis-elongated conformation was reported and formation of the monovalent inclusion host-guest complexes between 1,3,4-oxadiazoles and each calixarene-type stationary phase was studied with molecular modelling MM+ and AM1 methods. The structural, isomeric and energetic factors leading to the hydrogen bond stabilized inclusion complexes between these species were considered and used for explanation of observed retention sequence and selectivity of 1,3,4-oxadiazoles separation in applied calixarene-based HPLC systems. All these data would be useful in future development of optimized procedures enabling encapsulation of 1,3,4-oxadiazolurea-type drugs with calixarenes.