Enantiomeric analysis of drugs in water samples by using liquid-liquid microextraction and nano-liquid chromatography

The nano-LC technique is increasingly used for both fast studies on enantiomeric analysis and test beds of novel stationary phases due to the small volumes involved and the short conditioning and analysis times. In this study, the enantioseparation of 10 drugs from different families was carried out by nano-LC, utilizing silica with immobilized amylose tris(3-chloro-5-methylphenylcarbamate) column. The effect on chiral separation caused by the addition of different salts to the mobile phase was evaluated. To simultaneously separate as many enantiomers as possible, the effect of buffer concentration in the mobile phase was studied, and, to increase the sensitivity, a liquid-liquid microextraction based on the use of isoamyl acetate as sustainable extraction solvent was applied to pre-concentrate four chiral drugs from tap and environmental waters, achieving satisfactory recoveries (>70%).

Automated summary

In this study, the enantioseparation of 10 drugs from different families was carried out using nano-LC and a column with immobilized amylose tris(3-chloro-5-methylphenylcarbamate) silica. The effect of adding different salts to the mobile phase was evaluated for chiral separation. Buffer concentration in the mobile phase and liquid-liquid microextraction using isoamyl acetate were studied to improve the separation and increase sensitivity, achieving satisfactory recoveries (>70%) for four chiral drugs from tap and environmental waters.