Optical Resolution of Dabsyl Amino Acids in Reversed-Phase Liquid Chromatography

The dabsylation of amino acids has been applied to resolve their optical isomers with the use of chiral mobile phase in high performance liquid chromatography. The dabsyl amino acids were successfully separated on reversed phase column($C_{18}$) by adding a chiral L-benzylproline-Cu(II) chelate to the mobile phase. The separation selectivity of the dabsyl amino acid enantiomers was not less than that of dansyl amino acids. The retention order of the dabsyl amino acid enantiomers was as those of the dansyl amino acid enantiomers except dabsyl threonine. The optical selectivity of the dabsyl amino acids increase with pH of the mobile phase and concentration of the chelate, but slightly decreases with concentration of buffer and organic solvent composition. However serine, methionine, valine, and leucine showed a slight decrease in the optical selectivity with increase in pH. The retention times of the dabsyl amino acids decreases with increasing pH and acetonitrile concentration but increases with the concentration of the chiral chelate added. The mechanism of the optical resolution is based on a stereospecific interaction including a intramolecular hydrophobic effect and SN-2 reactivity of the ligand exchange chromatography.It is advantageous to detect absorption at 436 nm, which is less interferent them the other detection systems. The derivatized dabsyl amino acids are stable for a month.