Novel Approach for Efficient Separation of Primary Amines Using Supercritical Fluid Chromatography

Abstract

Efficient enantioselective separation is a critical process in pharmaceutical and chemical industries for the production of chiral compounds. Herein, we developed a novel approach for the efficient enantioselective separation of primary amines using supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) with a commercially available SFC column, Cel1. The key factors of separation, including cosolvent ratios, total cosolvent percentages, and temperature, were systematically assessed in this study. It revealed that utilization of a cosolvent mixture consisting of methanol and isopropanol in a 1:3 (v/v) ratio with a low total cosolvent percentage of 5% resulted in superior retention and selectivity. Additionally, it was observed that maintaining mid-range temperatures at 30 and 35°C achieved optimal balance between retention and efficiency. Employment of commercially available SFC columns streamlined the separation process, reducing analysis time and labor. This study highlights the effectiveness of SFC as a powerful tool for conducting high-throughput enantioselective separations in pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries.

Keywords: commercially available columns; cosolvent optimization; enantioselective separation; pharmaceutical intermediates; primary amines; supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC).