We are
experts in chiral HPLC and SFC method development of pharmaceutical samples and have
operated a contract separations labs for nearly two decades. We have learned a great deal
about developing fast and reliable racemate separation methods, often where other
companies have failed. The knowledge we have gained has allowed us to develop over ten
thousand new chromatographic methods for our clients. This has made our company the
leading consulting expert in the chiral field.
I would
like to share a tip with you regarding the use of different alcohol's in chiral method
development. That tip is to experiment with different alcohol's during the method
development process (*Please make sure the alcohol is compatible with your column!). Many
of the normal and reversed phase chiral columns can be used with some unconventional
alcohol's to achieve excellent separations. These alcohol's are often used isocratically
at 100% concentration for HPLC methods and at levels ~ 15 to 20% for many SFC methods. We
have had a great deal of success using 100% pure Methanol for HPLC methods on normal phase
style chiral columns (though 100% Ethanol is still one of the best). For SFC methods,
Methanol, Ethanol and Butanol (plus mixtures of these) are still some of our favorite
co-solvents.
Here is a
list of some popular alcohol's (HPLC grade) worth using in your chiral method development:
Methanol; Ethanol;1-Butanol; 2-Propanol; 2-Butanol and Acetonitrile
(I know this is not an alcohol, but it is often overlooked in chiral method development.
It works where other solvent systems fail for both HPLC (100%) and less so for SFC (10% as
a co-solvent with Methanol).
