Molecular Docking Approach for Prediction of Enantioseparation of Chiral Ibuprofen by α-1-Acid Glycoprotein Column

A study of the molecular anchoring and inclusion complex of the R/S-ibuprofen chiral compound with α-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) has been carried out. This study aimed to predict the chiral separation of ibuprofen using chiral column filled with AGP protein. The geometrical optimization of R/S-ibuprofen was conducted on different calculation methods to obtain the optimal molecular structure. Molecular docking approaches, specifically docking using AutodockTools software were used to predict R/S-ibuprofen separation in AGP chiral column by comparing the binding energy values and the type of interaction. Results of the study show that the best method for optimizing the geometry of ibuprofen is Density Functional Theory (DFT). Furthermore, the results of the specific anchoring of ibuprofen on the AGP shows that the binding energy of S-ibuprofen with AGP is more negative than that of R-ibuprofen, namely -5.63 and -5.55 kcal/mol, respectively, indicating that S-ibuprofen interacts more strongly with AGP and therefore it will be eluted from the AGP chiral column later after R-ibuprofen.