Use of native and derivatized cyclodextrin chiral stationary phases for the enantioseparation of aromatic and aliphatic sulfoxides by high performance liquid chromatography

The enantioselectivity of native and derivatized cyclodextrin stationary phases for aromatic and aliphatic chiral sulfoxides was evaluated using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Many sulfoxide enantiomers could be baseline resolved using the derivatized cyclodextrin stationary phases in the reverse phase mode. The most important factor influencing enantioselectivity is the presence of steric bulk alpha to the chiral center. However, substituents on an aromatic ring bonded to the sulfoxide have less pronounced effects on enantioselectivity. The 2,3-dimethyl β-cyclodextrin exhibits the broadest anantioselectivity for neutral chiral sulfoxides. Native cyclodextrins and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrins were much less effective in separating this class of molecules. The hydrogen bonding ability of the organic modifier does not significantly affect enantioselectivity.