Chiral surfactants and methods for their use in chiral separations

PCT No. PCT/US94/10655 Sec. 371 Date Mar. 20, 1996 Sec. 102(e) Date Mar. 20, 1996 PCT Filed Sep. 20, 1994 PCT Pub. No. WO95/08529 PCT Pub. Date Mar. 30, 1995Chiral surfactants, methods for their synthesis and use, and apparatus designed to facilitate chiral separations using nucellar capillary electrophoresis is disclosed. A chiral surfactant having the general formula: is described, R1 is the hydrophobic tail, Y-A-X is the linker, the brackets define a chiral center, and the hydrophilic head group is Z. All the various components may potentiate the enantioselectivity of the chiral surfactant. The capillary electrophoresis (CE) system includes a narrow diameter capillary, a high voltage power supply, an electrolyte reservoir at each end of the capillary, a means for injecting a sample, and a detector. Chiral surfactants are dissolved in the electrolyte above their critical micelle concentration (cmc), resulting in the formation of chiral micelles. The electrolyte reservoirs and capillary tube are filled with the electrolyte. A sample containing a mixture of enantiomers is then injected into the capillary, and a high voltage potential is applied across the capillary. The sample components migrate through the capillary due to the influence of the applied electric field. An example separation of the four sereoisomers of aspartame is shown.