The enantiomers of trans-paroxetine were separated on four chiral stationary phases (CSPs) based on chiral zwitterionic Cinchona alkaloids fused with (R,R)- or (S,S)-trans-2-aminocyclohexanesulfonic acid. The enantioseparations were carried out in polar-ionic or in hydro-organic mobile phases with MeOH/THF, MeCN/THF, MeCN/THF/H2O and MeOH/MeCN/THF containing organic acid and base additives, in the temperature range 0-50°C. The effects of the mobile phase composition, the natures and concentrations of the additives and temperature on the separations were investigated. Thermodynamic parameters were calculated from plots of ln α vs 1/T. Δ(ΔH°) ranged between -3.0 and +1.5 kJ mol(-1), and Δ(ΔS°) between -8.8 and +5.9 J mol(-1)K(-1). The enantioseparation was generally enthalpically controlled, the retention factor and separation factor decreasing with increasing temperature, but entropically controlled separation was also observed. The elution sequences of the paroxetine enantiomers on the two pairs of pseudo-enantiomeric CSPs were investigated, and an attempt was made to explain the observed anomalies in silico in order to gain an insight into the underlying molecular recognition events between the four chiral selectors and the analyte enantiomers.

No abstract

In a systematic way enantioseparations of non-methylated and the corresponding N-monomethylated ampholytic cyclic ß-amino acids were carried out on four zwitterionic chiral stationary phases (CSPs; ZWIX(+)™, ZWIX(-)™, ZWIX(+A), ZWIX(-A)). CSPs were based on the combinations of quinine and quinidine as the cationic and of (R,R)- and (S,S)-aminocyclohexane sulfonic acid as the anionic sites. In polar-ionic mobile phase systems, the effects of the composition of the bulk solvents, the additives, the concentration of the co- and counter-ions, the temperature, and the structures of the ampholytic analytes were investigated. The changes in standard enthalpy, Δ(ΔH°), entropy, Δ(ΔS°), and free energy, Δ(ΔG°), were calculated from the linear van't Hoff plots derived from the ln α vs 1/T curves in the studied temperature range (5-40°C). Unusual temperature behavior was observed on the ZWIX(-)™ column: decreased retention times were accompanied by increased separation factors with increasing temperature, and separation was entropically-driven. For the other three CSPs, enthalpically-driven enantioseparations were observed. Via the consequent determination of the elution order of the resolved enantiomers, the effects of the absolute configuration of the chiral anionic and cationic subunits of the zwitterionic CSPs could be elucidated. N-methylation of the amino acids led unexpectedly to a reversal of the elution sequence, which can be interpreted by a subtle shift of the hierarchical order of the sterically most important driving interaction sites from the cationic to the anionic units, and vice versa.

No abstract

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is a severe inherited disorder of cortisol biosynthesis that is potentially lethal or can seriously affect quality of life. For the first time, we aimed to assess the stability of 21-deoxycortisol (21Deox), 11-deoxycortisol (11Deox), 4-androstenedione (4AD), 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17OHP) and cortisol (Cort), diagnostic for CAH, in dried blood spots (DBSs) during a 1 year storage at different temperatures. Spiked DBS samples were stored at room temperature, 4˚C, -20˚C or -70˚C, respectively and analyzed in triplicates using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry at Weeks 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4, Month 6 and Year 1. Analyte levels within ±15% vs the baseline were considered stable. Our observations show that 21Deox, 4AD and 17OHP were not significantly changed for 1 year even at room temperature at either analyte levels. In contrast, Cort required storage at 4˚C, -20˚C or -70˚C for long-term stability, being significantly decreased at room temperature from Month 6 (p<0.01) in both the 30(60) nM and the 90(180) nM samples. 11Deox was significantly decreased at room temperature at Year 1 (p<0.01) and only in the 30(60) nM samples. Thus, all biomarkers were stable for up to 1 year at 4˚C, -20˚C or -70 C and at least for 4 weeks at room temperature. These findings have implications for analyses of stored DBS samples in 2 nd -tier assays in newborn screening and for retrospective CAH studies.