In recent years, dynamic chromatography and stopped-flow chromatographic techniques have become versatile tools for the determination of enantiomerization and isomerization barriers. Increasing demands for the stereochemical safety of chiral drugs contributed to the rapid development of new techniques. New computer-aided evaluation systems allow the on-line determination of interconversion barriers from the experimental chromatograms. Both dynamic chromatography and stopped-flow chromatography have been applied to the entire range of chromatographic methods (GC, SFC, HPLC, CE).

The temperature-dependent enantiomerization barriers of oxazepam, temazepam, and lorazepam have been determined between 0 and 30 degrees C by dynamic micellar electrokinetic chromatography (DMEKC) in an aqueous 20 mM borate/phosphate buffer system at pH 8 with 60 mM sodium cholate as chiral surfactant. Interconversion profiles featuring plateau formation and peak broadening were observed and simulated by the new program ChromWin based on the theoretical plate as well as on the stochastic model using the experimental data plateau height, hplateau, peak width at half-height, wh, total retention times, tR, and electroosmotic breakthrough time, t0. Peak form analysis yielded rate constants k and kinetic activation parameters, deltaG double dagger, deltaH double dagger, and deltaS double dagger, of the enantiomerization of oxazepam, temazepam, and lorazepam. At 25 degrees C, the enantiomerization barrier, deltaG double dagger, was determined to be approximately 90 kJ mol-1 and the half-lives, tau, were determined to be approximately 21 min. The new approach allows the fast and precise determination of enantiomerization barriers in a biogenic environment and it mimics physiological conditions, as no organic modifiers or abiotic chiral stationary phases (CSP) are employed.

Enantioselective chromatographic methods, representing the most commonly used techniques for the determination of enantiomeric ratios, can also be used for the evaluation of stereochemical integrity. In the present study, dynamic capillary electrokinetic chromatography (DEKC) was employed to determine the enantiomerization barrier of thalidomide. In the presence of the chiral mobile phase additive carboxymethyl-beta-cyclodextrin, the interconverting enantiomers of thalidomide produced characteristic elution profiles exhibiting plateaus and/or peak broadening between 25 and 55 degrees C at pH 8. To obtain the enantiomerization barrier of thalidomide from experimental data, the fast and efficient simulation program ChromWin was used to simulate the experimental interconversion profiles and to obtain the apparent rate constants k1app(T). Additionally, these values were compared with the novel approximation function for the direct calculation of enantiomerization barriers from chromatographic parameters of elution profiles. From the rate constants k1app(T) of temperature-dependent measurements the kinetic activation parameters deltaG(T)#,deltaH#, and deltaS# of the enantiomerization of thalidomide were obtained. At 25 degrees C, the enantiomerization barrier deltaG# was determined to be 102 +/- 1 kJ/mol at pH 8 in the dynamic electrokinetic chromatographic experiment.

Dynamic capillary electrophoresis (DCE) and computer simulation of the elution profiles with the theoretical plate and the stochastic model has been applied to determine the isomerization barriers of the three dipeptides L-alanyl-L-proline, L-leucyl-L-proline, and L-phenylalanyl-L-proline. The separation of the rotational cis-trans isomers has been performed in an aqueous 70 mM borate buffer at pH 9.5. Interconversion profiles featuring plateau formation and peak broadening were observed. To determine the rate constants k1 and k(-1) of the cis-trans isomerization in dynamic capillary electrophoresis, equations have been derived for the theoretical plate model and stochastic model. The electropherograms were simulated with the ChromWin software which uses the experimental data plateau height h(plateau), peak width at half height Wh, the total migration times of the cis-trans isomers tR and the electroosmotic break-through time t0 as well as the peak ratio [cis]/[trans]. From temperature-dependent measurements, the rate constants k1 and k(-1) and the kinetic activation parameters deltaG#, deltaH# and deltaS# of the cis-trans isomerization of the three dipeptides were obtained.

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