Enantioseparation by cLC-UV using chiral packed capillary columns with photonic crystal fibers as frits

The development of novel enantioseparation materials requires an effective testing method that not only is user-friendly, rapid, and reproducible but also minimizes the amount of enantioseparation material needed. In this work, commercially available silica particles coated with cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) were employed as the chiral stationary phase to develop a simple and rapid method for preparing chiral packed capillary columns compatible with conventional CEC-UV or cLC-UV systems. The column fabrication process took only 2 h. These chiral capillary packed columns, utilizing photonic crystal fibers as frits, successfully separated nine chiral compounds. Among these, six compounds achieved complete resolution within 10 min while demonstrating satisfactory reproducibility and stability. Furthermore, molecular docking simulations were performed using AutoDock and Discovery Studio to investigate the intermolecular interactions between cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) and the nine pairs of enantiomers, providing insights into the enantioseparation mechanism of the chiral stationary phase. This study lays the foundation for the future utilization of the photonic crystal fiber integrated capillary packed column as an advanced platform to explore novel enantioseparation materials.

Graphical Abstract