Influence of stereoregularity and linkage groups on chiral recognition of poly(phenylacetylene) derivatives bearing L-leucine ethyl ester pendants as chiral stationary phases for HPLC

Stereoregular poly(phenylacetylene) derivatives bearing L-leucine ethyl ester pendants, poly-1 and poly-2a, were, respectively, synthesized by the polymerization of N-(4-ethynylphenylcarbamoyl)-L-leucine ethyl ester (1) and N-(4-ethynylphenyl-carbonyl)-L-leucine ethyl ester (2) using Rh(nbd)BPh4 as a catalyst, while stereoirregular poly-2b was synthesized by solid-state thermal polymerization of 2. Their chiral recognition abilities for nine racemates were evaluated as chiral stationary phases (CSPs) for high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) after coating them on silica gel. Both poly-1 and poly-2a with a helical conformation showed their characteristic recognition depending on coating solvents and the linkage groups between poly(phenylacetylene) and L-leucine ethyl ester pendants. Poly-2a with a shorter amide linkage showed higher chiral recognition than poly-1 with a longer urea linkage. Coating solvents played an important role in the chiral recognition of both poly-1 and poly-2a due to the different conformation of the polymer main chains induced by the solvents. A few racemates were effectively resolved on the poly-2a coated with a MeOH/CHCl3 (3/7, v/v) mixture. The separation factors for these racemates were comparable to those obtained on the very popular CSPs derived from polysaccharide phenylcarbamates. Stereoirregular poly-2b exhibited much lower chiral recognition than the corresponding stereoregular, helical poly-2a, suggesting that the regular structure of poly(phenylacetylene) main chains is essential to attain high chiral recognition. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013, 51, 2271-2278