Abstract

Chiral separations are concerned with separating molecules that can exist as nonsuperimposable mirror images. Although chirality is often associated with compounds containing a tetrahedral carbon with four different substituents, other atoms, such as phosphorus or sulfur, may also be chiral. Also molecules containing a center of asymmetry may be chiral. There has been recent awareness that many drugs are chiral and that living systems constitute chiral environments. Hence, the optical isomers of chiral drugs may exhibit different bioactivities and/or biotoxicities. Although a great deal of work is being done in chiral separations related to pharmaceuticals, agricultural and food and beverage industries are affected as well. Traditionally, chiral separations have been considered the most difficult to achieve. A variety of chiral separation strategies have been devised. This article focuses on chromatographically based chiral separations. The use of thin-layer chromatography, capillary electrophoresis, high performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, and liquid chromatography are detailed.