Bile Salts in Chiral Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography: 2000-2020

Bile salts are naturally occurring chiral surfactants that are able to solubilize hydrophobic compounds. Because of this ability, bile salts were exploited as chiral selectors added to the background solution (BGS) in the chiral micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) of various small molecules. In this review, we aimed to examine the developments in research on chiral MEKC using bile salts as chiral selectors over the past 20 years. The review begins with a discussion of the aggregation of bile salts in chiral recognition and separation, followed by the use of single bile salts and bile salts with other chiral selectors (i.e., cyclodextrins, proteins and single-stranded DNA aptamers). Advanced techniques such as partial-filling MEKC, stacking and single-drop microextraction were considered. Potential applications to real samples, including enantiomeric impurity analysis, were also discussed.

Automated summary

This review examines the use of bile salts as chiral selectors in chiral micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) over the past 20 years, discussing their aggregation in chiral recognition and separation, as well as their use in combination with other chiral selectors. Advanced techniques like partial-filling MEKC, stacking, and single-drop microextraction are considered, along with potential applications to real samples such as enantiomeric impurity analysis.