On the zopiclone enantioselective binding to human albumin and plasma proteins. An electrokinetic chromatography approach

In this work, a methodology for the chiral separation of zopiclone (ZPC) by electrokinetic chromatography (EKC) using carboxymethylated-β-cyclodextrin as chiral selector has been developed and applied to the evaluation of the enantioselective binding of ZPC enantiomers to HSA and total plasma proteins. Two mathematical approaches were used to estimate protein binding (PB), affinity constants (K1) and enantioselectivity (ES) for both enantiomers of ZPC. Contradictory results in the literature, mainly related to plasma protein binding reported data, suggest that this is an unresolved matter and that more information is needed. Discrepancies and coincidences with previous data are highlighted.