Enantioseparation of chiral sulfoxides and sulfinate esters by capillary electrophoresis.

Forty-one chiral sulfoxides and sulfinate esters were separated using sulfated beta-cyclodextrin and carboxymethyl beta-cyclodextrin as chiral selectors. Binding constants of some analytes to both chiral selectors were measured in order to examine and help explain the observed migration behavior and enantioselectivity trends. Overall, sulfated beta-cyclodextrin separated a greater number of compounds, and had better separating capabilities than did carboxymethyl beta-cyclodextrin for these analytes. This was true even though all of the analytes showed much stronger binding to carboxymethyl beta-cyclodextrin than to sulfated beta-cyclodextrin. General procedures to optimize the separation, by varying pH, selector concentration, and organic modifier concentration were examined and discussed. Chiral selector concentration had the greatest effect on enantioseparation, with higher concentrations of selector giving better peak-to-peak separations. Organic modifier had an adverse affect on resolution, with increasing amounts giving lower mobility differences. Lastly, pH had only a minimal effect on separation.