Development of DNA-immobilised chromatographic stationary phases for optical resolution and DNA-affinity comparison of metal complexes

Two chiral stationary phases which exploit DNA as a chiral discriminator have been developed. A covalently-bound DNA stationary phase for HPLC applications was used to optically resolve [Ru(dipyrido[6,7-d:2',3'-f]-quinoxaline)(3)](2+) and [Ru(1,10-phenanthroline)(3)](2+) complex ions. This shows that the column retention times are influenced both by pH and by the size of the aromatic ligands. DNA-immobilised on cellulose paper proved effective for simultaneously comparing the relative retention of a number of metal complexes and R(F) data correlate well with the degree of aromatic area in the complexes available for intercalation into DNA.