A Thermodynamic Study of the Temperature-Dependent Elution Order of Cyclic α-Amino Acid Enantiomers on a Copper(II)−<scp>d</scp>-Penicillamine Chiral Stationary Phase

Abstract

The reversal of the elution order of cyclic alpha-amino acid enantiomers as a function of the temperature on a copper(II)-N,S-dioctyl-D-penicillamine ligand-exchange column is described. The thermodynamic parameters accounting for the retention and the separation of analytes were determined by means of van't Hoff plots. The influence of different chromatographic conditions on these parameters was investigated, showing little effect of the Cu(II) concentration in the eluent but strong influence of the organic modifier content on the separation. Further, the pH of the mobile phase was found to be a determining factor for the retention of the analytes. Based on these findings, a separation mechanism is postulated comprising the importance of complex formation for primary docking at the stationary phase, while hydrophobic interactions are crucial for chiral discrimination.