Coupling chiral stationary phases as a fast screening approach for HPLC method development

Given the increasing number of chiral samples and the time constraints under which chromatographers work, choosing an appropriate chiral stationary phase for the resolution of enantiomers can be challenging. In this article, the authors describe a screening approach for chiral HPLC method development. They used three 10 cm x 0.46 cm columns packed with macrocyclic glycopeptide chiral stationary phases that possess complementary selectivities. The columns were coupled in various sequences to screen chiral analytes using three types of mobile phases. Whenever the coupled columns showed some selectivity, the analyte could be separated with baseline resolution using a single 25 cm x 0.46 cm analytical column under optimized conditions. The authors investigated the retention and selectivity of the coupled columns and compared them with individual or mixed chiral stationary phases.