Scaling-up Procedures on Chiral Separation by HPLC

Chiral separation by elution chromatography (EC) with chiral stationary phases (CSPs) is useful for the quick preparation of enantiomers in the developing stage of new drugs. The use of this method is limited to a small separation, less than kilo-gram scale, because of the large solvent consumption. The simulated moving bed (SMB) process is good to separate two components, and it has been developed for the application to chiral separations. As compared to the EC system in our study, the productivity of the SMB process is twenty times better, and the solvent consumption is less than one twentieth. This shows the good possibility that the SMB technology can be applied to the industrial-scale production to supply enantiomers. With improvement of the process, the range of production will be spread from hundred grams to several ten tons.