Comparison of separation performances of amylose- and cellulose-based stationary phases in the high-performance liquid chromatographic enantioseparation of stereoisomers of β-lactams

High-performance liquid chromatographic methods were developed for the separation of the enantiomers of 19 β-lactams. The direct separations were performed on chiral stationary phases containing either amylose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate), (Kromasil® AmyCoat™ column) or cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate), (Kromasil® CelluCoat™ column) as chiral selector. The different methods were compared in systematic chromatographic examinations. The separations were carried out with good selectivity and resolution. The AmyCoat™ and CelluCoat™ columns appear to be highly complementary. The best separations of bi- and tricyclic β-lactam stereoisomers were obtained with the AmyCoat™ column, while the 4-aryl-substituted β-lactams were better separated on the CelluCoat™ column. The elution sequence was determined in all cases; no general rule could be established.