Effect of the degree of substitution of cyclodextrin derivatives on chiral separations by high-performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis

Abstract Optical isomers of some basic racemic drugs (oxprenolol, AMEBD, ephedrine) were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and/or capillary electrophoresis (CE) using carboxymethyl-β-cyclodextrin (CMBCD) with various degree of substitution (DS). The effects of the separation conditions (pH, concentration and DS of CMBCD) were studied and compared using CE and HPLC. The degree of substitution has a significant effect on the resolution of the optical isomers and the ionic strength of the separation media, hence the use of well characterized CD derivatives is crucial. Different optimum DS values for the same test samples were obtained when HPLC or CE was used.