Evaluation and application of liquid chromatographic columns coated with ‘intelligent’ ligands: (I) acylcarnitine column

Unique stationary phases of octadecylsilica (ODS) coated with acylcarnitines have been developed for liquid chromatographic columns. The ODS column coated with acylcarnitine was readily prepared by recycling the solution containing acylcarnitine through an ODS column in a closed loop. Acylcarnitine was adsorbed on the ODS surfaces by hydrophobic interaction between the acyl group of acylcarnitine and the octadecyl group of the ODS phases. The ODS column coated with stearoylcarnitine (CN-18 column) was the most stable among the four columns coated with acylcarnitines of various acyl chain lengths (decanoylcarnitine, lauroylcarnitine, myristoylcarnitine, and stearoylcarnitine) under the condition of delivery of the mobile phase, indicating that adsorption of acylcarnitine on the ODS surfaces depended on the length of acyl chains. The CN-18 column was usable for delivering the mobile phase contained less than 20% (v/v) acetonitrile, retaining almost the same separation efficiency as the intact ODS column. The retention behavior of ionic solutes on the CN-18 column could be explained by both ionic and electrostatic interactions between the solutes and the stationary phase. The CN-18 column enabled efficient separation of inorganic anions, nicotinic acids, amino acids, and nucleotides. The chiral ODS column coated with enantiomer of stearoylcarnitine, l-stearoylcarnitine (l-CN-18 column) could achieve direct enantiomeric separation of dl-tryptophan, α-methyl-dl-tryptophan and dl-3-indolelactic acid using 100% water as the mobile phase. The l-CN-18 column could also separate enantiomers of amino acids and α-hydroxycarboxylic acids by ligand-exchange chromatographic mode using a mobile phase containing copper(II) ion. The chiral recognition is discussed for enantiomeric separation on the l-CN-18 column.