Stereoselective Molecular Recognition Materials

In this research project materials for the separation and analysis of chiral compounds based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) will be developed and evaluated. The research work is thematically located at the interface between organic and analytical chemistry, the chemistry of renewable raw materials (cellulose and other polysaccharides), and in the field of pharmaceutical analysis. The separation of chiral compounds into the respective enantiomers is an omnipresent analytical and preparative challenge in medical, pharmaceutical, and chemical disciplines. This applies to, for example, the production and purity determination of chiral drugs (e.g. ibuprofen), the pharmacokinetic profiling of optically active pharmaceuticals in both human and veterinary medicine, as well as the investigation of food contaminants (e.g. mycotoxins) and environmental pollutants (e.g. chiral fungicides and pesticides). The most common method here is direct chiral HPLC. A large number of HPLC column materials based on a wide variety of chiral selectors is already commercially available, with polysaccharide-based silica gel hybrid phases having emerged as the most powerful ones. However, these are only available in neutral form. Chiral compounds also contain acidic and basic molecular structural motifs and are therefore often present in their respective ionized form as organic salts. The aim of the project is thus to develop novel chiral ion-exchangers based on polysaccharide derivatives, which can be used in the above-mentioned disciplines for the separation of chiral organic acids and bases that were previously difficult to separate. The underlying molecular recognition mechanisms will also be investigated for a better understanding of the separation parameters.