Michal Kohout

Strong cation exchange-type chiral stationary phase for enantioseparation of chiral amines in subcritical fluid chromatography

A new strong cation exchange type chiral stationary phase (SCX CSP) based on a syringic acid amide derivative of trans-(R, R)-2-aminocyclohexanesulfonic acid was applied to subcritical fluid chromatography (SFC) for separation of various chiral basic drugs and their analogues. Mobile phase systems consisting of aliphatic alcohols as polar modifiers and a broad range of amines with different substitution patterns and lipophilicity were employed to evaluate the impact on the SFC retention and selectivity characteristics. The observed results point to the existence of carbonic and carbamic acid salts formed as a consequence of reactions occurring between carbon dioxide, the alcoholic modifiers and the amine species present in the sub/supercritical fluid medium, respectively. Evidence is provided that these species are essential for affecting ion exchange between the strongly acidic chiral selector units and the basic analytes, following the well-established stoichiometric displacement mechanisms. Specific trends were observed when different types of amines were used as basic additives. While ammonia gave rise to the formation of the most strongly eluting carbonic and carbamic salt species, simple tertiary amines consistently provided superior levels of enantioselectivity. Furthermore, trends in the chiral SFC separation characteristics were investigated by the systematic variation of the modifier content and temperature. Different effects of additives are interpreted in terms of changes in the relative concentration of the transient ionic species contributing to analyte elution, with ammonia-derived carbamic salts being depleted at elevated temperatures by decomposition. Additionally, in an effort to optimize SFC enantiomer separation conditions for selected analytes, the impact of the type of the organic modifier, temperature, flow rate and active back pressure were also investigated.

A nematic-polar columnar phase sequence in new bent-shaped liquid crystals based on a 7-hydroxynaphthalene-2-carboxylic acid core

Mesomorphic properties of new bent-shaped liquid crystals based on 7-hydroxynaphthalene-2-carboxylic acid are presented. The central unit of the molecular core was also modified by substitution of the chlorine atom or methyl group. Texture and calorimetric studies, as well as electrooptical, X-ray and dielectric measurements of selected compounds were performed. For long homologues the lamellar B2 phase was observed, while for shorter homologues two-dimensional columnar phases were found, built of layer fragments with the electron density modulation plane perpendicular to polarization direction. Based on X-ray patterns, two types of modulated polar columnar phases were distinguished, having oblique or orthogonal centred crystallographic unit cells and differing in relative position of the neighbouring layer fragments. For some homologues above these phases the nematic phase was also formed.

A new group of monoquaternary reactivators of acetylcholinesterase inhibited by nerve agents

Reactivators of acetylcholinesterase (AChE; EC 3.1.1.7) are able to treat intoxication by organophosphorus compounds, especially with pesticides or nerve agents. Owing to the fact that there exists no universal “broad-spectrum” reactivator of organophosphates-inhibited AChE, many laboratories have synthesized new AChE reactivators. Here, we synthesized five new and three previously known quaternary monopyridinium oximes as potential reactivators of AChE inhibited by nerve agents. Potencies to cleave p-nitrophenyl acetate (PNPA), which is commonly used as a model substrate of nerve agents, were measured. Their cleaving potencies were compared with 4-PAM (4-hydroxyiminomethyl-1-methylpyridinium iodide), which is derived from the structure of the currently used AChE-reactivator 2-PAM (2-hydroxyiminomethyl-1-methylpyridinium iodide). Three newly synthesized oximes achieved similar nucleophilicity at the similar pKa according to 4-PAM, which is very promising for using these derivatives as AChE reactivators.

Novel carbamoyl type quinine and quinidine based chiral anion exchangers implementing alkyne-azide cycloaddition immobilization chemistry.

The synthesis and chromatographic evaluation of a series of new Cinchona derived chiral weak anion exchangers is presented. Huisgen Cu(I) mediated alkyne-azide cycloaddition, so-called click chemistry, was used as an immobilization strategy. In this way it was possible to immobilize about 90% of offered selector via 1,2,3-triazole linker, which displays a more efficient way of binding the selector to modified silica compared to common radical mediated thiol-ene addition. Problems associated with potential radical scavenging properties of chiral selectors thereby could be circumvented. The evaluation of the synthesized chiral stationary phases regarding chromatographic behavior was carried out using polar organic mode mobile phase composition and a set of representative chiral organic acids. Different loading densities revealed an optimum selector density of about 310μmol/g chiral stationary phase with respect to resolution and selectivity. A decrease of performance was observed for higher loading, indicating mutual spatial influence of selector units leading to sterical hindrance. In addition, we observed that the effect of free azide groups on retention is negligible and the overall chromatographic behavior is comparable to other Cinchona derived chiral stationary phases.

Non-symmetrical bent-shaped liquid crystals based on a laterally substituted naphthalene central core with four ester groups

In the continuation of our study of the role of direction of the linking ester group and lateral substitution, we present three series of bent-core liquid crystals based on 7-hydroxynaphthalene-2-carboxylic acid. The mesomorphic properties were investigated by polarised optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction and electro-optical methods. For non-substituted and laterally methyl-substituted compounds, columnar phases of broken-layer type and a smectic A phase were found. With the increasing length of the terminal alkyl chain, an increasing stability of the lamellar smectic A phase was observed. Substitution with a methyl group led to substantial narrowing of the mesophase range and the chloro-substituted materials exhibited no mesophases. The results are also discussed in context with the earlier studied naphthalene based mesogens.

Direct high-performance liquid chromatographic enantioseparation of free α-, β- and γ-aminophosphonic acids employing cinchona-based chiral zwitterionic ion exchangers

AbstractWe report a chiral high-performance liquid chromatographic enantioseparation method for free α-aminophosphonic, β-aminophosphonic, and γ-aminophosphonic acids, aminohydroxyphosphonic acids, and aromatic aminophosphinic acids with different substitution patterns. Enantioseparation of these synthons was achieved by means of high-performance liquid chromatography on CHIRALPAK ZWIX(+) and ZWIX(-) (cinchona-based chiral zwitterionic ion exchangers) under polar organic chromatographic elution conditions. Mobile phase characteristics such as acid-to-base ratio, type of counterion, and solvent composition were systematically varied in order to investigate their effect on the separation performance and to achieve optimal separation conditions for the set of analytes. Under the optimized conditions, 32 of 37 racemic aminophosphonic acids studied reached baseline separation when we employed a single generic mass-spectrometry-compatible mobile phase, with reversal of the elution order when we used (+) and (-) versions of the chiral stationary phase. FigureNew zwitterionic ion-exchangers can separate free amino phosphonic acids and a change from Chiralpak ZWIX(+) to ZWIX(-) allows reversal of enantiomer elution order

Chiral separation of new designer drugs (Cathinones) on chiral ion-exchange type stationary phases

We present the enantioseparation of new designer drugs from the cathinone family on structurally different chiral ion-exchange type stationary phases. A novel strong cation-exchange type chiral stationary phase was synthesized and its performance compared with previously reported ion-exchange type chiral stationary phases. The influence of structural elements of the chiral selectors on their chromatographic performance was studied and the possibilities of tuning chromatographic parameters by varying the polarity of the employed mobile phases were determined. Evidence is provided that a change in mobile phase composition strongly influences the solvation shell of the polarized and polarizable units of the selectors and analytes, as well as ionizable mobile phase additives. Furthermore, the structural features of the selectors (e.g. the size of aromatic units and their substitution pattern) are shown to play a key role in the effective formation of diastereomeric complexes with analytes. Thus, we have achieved the enantioseparation of all test analytes with a mass spectrometry-compatible mobile phase with a chiral strong cation-exchange type stationary phase.

Non-symmetrical bent-shaped liquid crystals with five ester groups

In this study a new series of bent-core liquid crystals based on laterally substituted 7-hydroxynaphthalene-2-carboxylic acid is presented. All compounds exhibit broken-layer type columnar phases. For CH3 laterally substituted compounds with a longer chain we found a smectic A above a columnar phase on cooling from the isotropic phase. Additionally, for CH3-substituted compounds with the longest chains (C14H29) two switchable columnar phases (B1RevT) occurred below the SmA phase. Two columnar phases were also found for Cl-substituted homologues with the long chain C12H25 and C14H29. For the Cl-substituted materials we found significant lowering of transition temperatures and a very steady columnar phase in a broad temperature interval of up to 130 K.

The effect of a thiophene ring in the outer position on mesomorphic properties of the bent-shaped liquid crystals

Novel bent-shaped compounds with the naphthalene central core possessing an outer thiophene unit in the lengthening arm were synthesized. Mesomorphic behaviour of new materials was studied using optical polarising microscopy, DSC, and electrooptic methods. The structures of mesophases were identified by X-ray diffraction and the structural parameters established. In the case of the thiophene unit in one molecular arm (the phenyl in the opposite arm) we succeeded in obtaining mesogenic properties for all types of lateral substitutions on the central naphthalene core. All non-substituted compounds and materials with the central core substituted by CH3 or Cl exhibited the B2 phase. The B7 phase has been observed for all compounds with CN-substituted central core. Materials with the thiophene unit in both lengthening arms were not liquid crystalline except for the CN-substituted compound exhibiting the B7 phase. Mesomorphic properties of compounds with the thiophene are compared with those detected on analogous materials with the phenyl ring.

Mechanistic considerations of enantiorecognition on novel Cinchona alkaloid-based zwitterionic chiral stationary phases from the aspect of the separation of trans-paroxetine enantiomers as model compounds

The enantiomers of trans-paroxetine were separated on four chiral stationary phases (CSPs) based on chiral zwitterionic Cinchona alkaloids fused with (R,R)- or (S,S)-trans-2-aminocyclohexanesulfonic acid. The enantioseparations were carried out in polar-ionic or in hydro-organic mobile phases with MeOH/THF, MeCN/THF, MeCN/THF/H2O and MeOH/MeCN/THF containing organic acid and base additives, in the temperature range 0-50°C. The effects of the mobile phase composition, the natures and concentrations of the additives and temperature on the separations were investigated. Thermodynamic parameters were calculated from plots of ln α vs 1/T. Δ(ΔH°) ranged between -3.0 and +1.5 kJ mol(-1), and Δ(ΔS°) between -8.8 and +5.9 J mol(-1)K(-1). The enantioseparation was generally enthalpically controlled, the retention factor and separation factor decreasing with increasing temperature, but entropically controlled separation was also observed. The elution sequences of the paroxetine enantiomers on the two pairs of pseudo-enantiomeric CSPs were investigated, and an attempt was made to explain the observed anomalies in silico in order to gain an insight into the underlying molecular recognition events between the four chiral selectors and the analyte enantiomers.