Enantioseparation of alanyl-phenylalanine analogs by capillary electrophoresis using negatively charged cyclodextrins as chiral selectors.

The separation of the ll- and dd-enantiomers of the dipeptides Ala-Phe, Ala-phenylglycine (Phg), Ala-homoPhe, Ala-β-Phe, Gly-Phe and β-Ala-Phe was studied by capillary electrophoresis in the presence of negatively charged α-, β- and γ-cyclodextrin (CD) derivatives. Analysis was performed under standardized conditions in fused-silica capillaries at pH 2.5, 3.5 and 5.3. All analyte enantiomers could be separated at pH 2.5 under at least one of the experimental conditions. Especially β-CD derivatives proved to be effective chiral selectors. The enantiomer migration order depended on CD cavity size and substituent type, while peptide structure had only a minor effect. Upon increasing the pH from 2.5 to 5.3, reversal of the enantiomer migration order was observed frequently. Investigation of the apparent and, in the case of randomly substituted CDs, averaged complexation constants and mobilities of the diastereomeric peptide enantiomer-CD complexes indicated that in most cases the migration order in the presence of sulfated α-, β- and γ-CD and heptakis(6-O-sulfo)-β-CD could be explained by the stronger binding of the second migrating analyte by the CD at pH 2.5. However, in few cases the weaker bound enantiomer migrated second, which could be attributed to the higher mobility of the respective CD complexes. At pH 5.3, similar data were obtained for sulfated β-CD and heptakis(6-O-sulfo)-β-CD, i.e. the strength of the complexes determined the migration order for some peptides, while the migration sequence was based on the apparent (and averaged) mobility of the diastereomeric analyte-CD complexes in other cases.