Chiral column chromatography is a variant of
column chromatography that is employed for the separation of
enantiomer
In chemistry, an enantiomer ( /ɪˈnænti.əmər, ɛ-, -oʊ-/ ''ih-NAN-tee-ə-mər''; from Ancient Greek ἐνάντιος ''(enántios)'' 'opposite', and μέρος ''(méros)'' 'part') – also called optical isomer, antipode, or optical ant ...
s, e. g. in
racemates. The
stationary phase contains a single
enantiomer
In chemistry, an enantiomer ( /ɪˈnænti.əmər, ɛ-, -oʊ-/ ''ih-NAN-tee-ə-mər''; from Ancient Greek ἐνάντιος ''(enántios)'' 'opposite', and μέρος ''(méros)'' 'part') – also called optical isomer, antipode, or optical ant ...
of a
chiral
Chirality is a property of asymmetry important in several branches of science. The word ''chirality'' is derived from the Greek (''kheir''), "hand", a familiar chiral object.
An object or a system is ''chiral'' if it is distinguishable from i ...
compound.
The chiral stationary phase can be prepared by attaching a chiral compound to the surface of an achiral support such as
silica gel. Common chiral stationary phases are based on oligosaccharides such as
cellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall ...
or
cyclodextrin (in particular with β-cyclodextrin, a seven sugar ring molecule).
The principle can be also applied to the fabrication of
monolithic HPLC columns or
gas chromatography columns.
References
Chromatography
Stereochemistry
{{chemistry-stub