Enantioseparation performance of superficially porous particle vancomycin-based chiral stationary phases in supercritical fluid chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography; applicability for psychoactive substances

• Published in: Journal of Chromatography A Vol. 1637; p. 461846
• Main Authors: Folprechtová, Denisa, Kalíková, Květa, Kadkhodaei, Kian, Reiterer, Cornelia, Armstrong, Daniel W., Tesařová, Eva, Schmid, Martin G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 25.01.2021
• Subjects: Benzofurans - chemistry; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Chromatography, Supercritical Fluid - methods; Enantioseparation; HPLC; Novel psychoactive substances; Porosity; Psychotropic Drugs - chemistry; SFC; Solvents - chemistry; Stereoisomerism; Vancomycin; Vancomycin - chemistry; Novel psychoactive substances; SFC; Vancomycin; Enantioseparation; HPLC
• ISSN: 0021-9673; 1873-3778
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2020.461846

•Fast enantioselective methods for separation of novel psychoactive substances.•Vancomycin-based columns bonded to core shell particles were used.•Vancomycin has great enantioselective potential in SFC and HPLC.•Simultaneous enantioseparations of NPS in SFC and HPLC were achieved. Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) are synthetic compounds that have been designed to produce the physiological and psychological effects of known recreational drugs, while circumventing current drug control laws and scheduling guidelines. Such “designer drugs” pose problems in detection and prevention of use, and they are no less dangerous than known controlled substances. Among the various classes of NPS, many are chiral. As they are synthetic products, most are racemates. Not unexpectedly, there is limited information about different the pharmacological and toxicological properties of their pure enantiomers. Hence, fast and reliable enantioselective methods are of great interest. In this work, superficially porous particle (SPP) vancomycin-based chiral stationary phases were used for development of fast enantioselective separation methods for various classes of NPS in supercritical fluid chromatography and liquid chromatography. The NPS tested included pyrovalerones, benzofurans, phenidines and phenidates. The effect of mobile phase composition on the retention and resolution of NPS in supercritical fluid chromatography was examined. The amount as well as the ratios of additives used is crucial for enantioseparation efficiency. Results showed the high enantioselective potential of vancomycin-based columns in both chromatographic techniques; 88% of NPS tested were enantioseparated in supercritical fluid chromatography and 69% of NPS tested were enantioseparated in liquid chromatography. Moreover, under optimized conditions, simultaneous enantioseparations of some NPS were achieved, which indicates great suitability of vancomycin-based columns for this purpose. The proposed methods can serve as guides for method development and for enantioseparation of further upcoming NPS.