Direct separation of tranylcypromine enantiomers and their profile in an atypical depressive patient.

An isocratic and simple high-performance liquid chromatographic method is developed for the direct resolution of the tranylcypromine (TCP) enantiomers. The method involves the use of an S-18-crown-6-ether chiral stationary phase known as the Crownpak CR (+) column. The stereochemical separation factor (alpha) obtained was 1.30 and the stereochemical resolution factor (Rs) was 0.69 when using a mobile phase consisting of 0.1 N perchloric acid containing 12% methanol at 23 degrees C. The method has been used to monitor and identify, qualitatively, the profile of enantiomers of TCP in urine of an atypical depressive patient. It was found that the (-)-S-TCP concentration is significantly higher than the (+)-R-enantiomer.