The majority of modern antidepressants (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) have one or two centers of asymmetry in their structure; resulting in the formation of enantiomers which may exhibit different pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties. Recent developments in drug stereochemistry has led to understanding the role of chirality in modern therapy correlated with increased knowledge regarding the molecular structure of specific drug targets and towards the possible advantages of using pure enantiomers instead of racemic mixtures. The current review deals with chiral antidepressant drugs; presenting examples of stereoselectivity in the pharmacological actions of certain antidepressants and their metabolites and emphasizing the differences between pharmacological actions of the racemates and pure enantiomers.

Fluoxetine is an antidepressant, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) used primarily in the treatment of major depression, panic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder. Chiral separation of racemic fluoxetine is necessary due to its enantioselective metabolism. In order to develop a suitable method for chiral separation of fluoxetine, cyclodextrin (CD) modified capillary electrophoresis (CE) was employed. A large number of native and derivatized, neutral and ionized CD derivatives were screened to find the optimal chiral selector. As a result of this process, heptakis(2,3,6-tri-O-methyl)-β-CD (TRIMEB) was selected for enantiomeric discrimination. A factorial analysis study was performed by orthogonal experimental design in which several factors are varied at the same time to optimize the separation method. The optimized method (50 mM phosphate buffer, pH = 5.0, 10 mM TRIMEB, 15 °C, + 20 kV, 50 mbar/1 s, detection at 230 nm) was successful for baseline separation of fluoxetine enantiomers within 5 min. Our method was validated according to ICH guidelines and proved to be sensitive, linear, accurate and precise for the chiral separation of fluoxetine.

The present work describes the development of a capillary electrophoresis (CE) method for the chiral discrimination of amlodipine (AML) enantiomers using cyclodextrine (CD) derivatives as chiral selectors. A large number of native and derivatized, neutral and ionized CD derivatives were screened to find the optimal chiral selector; and carboximethyl-β-CD (CM-β-CD) was selected for the enantiomeric discrimination. A factorial analysis study was performed by orthogonal experimental design in which several factors were varied at the same time to optimize the separation method. The optimized method (25 mM phosphate buffer, pH = 9.0, 15 mM CM-β-CD, 15 °C, + 25 kV, 30 mbar/1 second, detection wavelength 230 nm) was successfully applied for the baseline separation of AML enantiomers within 5 minutes. Successful validation and application of the proposed CE method suggest its routine use in enantioselective control of AML in pharmaceutical preparations.

Fluoxetine is a widely used antidepressant belonging to the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor class; it is used in the treatment of major depression, obsessive compulsive, premenstrual dysphoric, panic and post-traumatic stress disorders. Fluoxetine is an optical active pharmaceutical substance, which is used as a racemate in therapy, but stereospecific interactions associated with the serotonin-reuptake carrier, for both the parent drug and its active metabolite, norfluoxetine, have been described in the literature. Therefore, the stereoselective analysis of fluoxetine and norfluoxetine is important in order to characterize the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile of the analytes. Several chromatographic and electrophoretic methods have been published in the literature for the chiral discrimination of fluoxetine enantiomers from different matrices. The purpose of the current review is to provide a systematic survey of the analytical techniques used for the chiral determination of fluoxetine and norfluoxetine covering a period of~25 years.

Chirality is a property of asymmetry which determines the pharmacokinetic and pharmacological profiles of optically active pharmaceuticals. Verapamil (VER), a calcium channel blocker phenylalkylamine derivative used in the treatment of cardio-vascular diseases, is a chiral compound, marketed as a racemate, although differences between the pharmacokinetic and pharmacological attributes of the enantiomers have been reported. The aim of our study was to develop a new chiral separation method for VER enantiomers by capillary electrophoresis (CE) using cyclodextrins (CDs) as chiral selectors (CSs). After an initial screening, using different native and derivatized CDs, at four pH levels, heptakis 2,3,6-tri-O-methyl-β-CD (TM-β-CD), a neutral derivatized CD, was identified as the optimum CS. For method optimization, a preliminary univariate approach was applied to characterize the influence of analytical parameters on the separation followed by a Box–Behnken experimental design to establish the optimal separation conditions. Chiral separation of enantiomers was achieved with a resolution of 1.58 in approximately 4 min; the migration order was R-VER followed by S-VER. The method analytical performance was evaluated in terms of precision, linearity, accuracy, and robustness (applying a Plackett–Burnam experimental design). The developed method was applied for the determination of VER enantiomers in pharmaceuticals. Finally, a computer modelling of VER–CD complexes was used to describe host–guest chiral recognition.

Mexiletine (MXL) is a class IB antiarrhythmic agent, acting as a non-selective voltage-gated sodium channel blocker, used in therapy as a racemic mixture R,S-MXL hydrochloride. The aim of the current study was the development of a new, fast, and efficient method for the chiral separation of MXL enantiomers using capillary electrophoresis (CE) and cyclodextrins (CDs) as chiral selectors (CSs). After an initial CS screening, using several neutral and charged CDs, at four pH levels, heptakis-2,3,6-tri-O-methyl-β-CD (TM-β-CD), a neutral derivatized CD, was chosen as the optimum CS for the enantioseparation. For method optimization, an initial screening fractional factorial design was applied to identify the most significant parameters, followed by a face-centered central composite design to establish the optimal separation conditions. The best results were obtained by applying the following optimized electrophoretic conditions: 60 mM phosphate buffer, pH 5.0, 50 mM TM-β-CD, temperature 20 °C, applied voltage 30 kV, hydrodynamic injection 50 mbar/s. MXL enantiomers were baseline separated with a resolution of 1.52 during a migration time of under 5 min; S-MXL was the first migrating enantiomer. The method’s analytical performance was verified in terms of precision, linearity, accuracy, and robustness (applying a Plackett–Burman design). The developed method was applied for the determination of MXL enantiomers in pharmaceuticals. A computer modeling of the MXL-CD complexes was applied to characterize host–guest chiral recognition.

In the article entitled "Chirality of modern antidepressants: an overview" which appeared in Adv Pharm Bull. 2017;7(4):495-50, the figure captions were offset in the published version of the article. The correct titles for Figure 2-6 are the following: Figure 2. Structure of CIT enantiomers (not Stereoselective FLX metabolism) Figure 3. Structure of SER diasteromers (not Structure of CIT enantiomers) Figure 4. Structure of PAR diastereomers (not S-CIT metabolism) Figure 5. Structure of VEN enantiomers (not Structure of SER diasteromers) Figure 6. Structure of DLX enantiomers (Structure of PAR diastereomers)The authors would like to apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Erratum