(+) or (−)-1-(9-fluorenyl)ethyl chloroformate as chiral derivatizing agent: A review

•A first critical and comprehensive review of FLEC chiral separations.•Practical aspects of FLEC derivatization are highlighted.•Applications comprising all areas of LC, SFC and CE techniques are reviewed.

Over the last 30 years, (±)-1-(9-fluorenyl)ethyl chloroformate ((±)-FLEC) was used as a chiral derivatizing agent in various analytical applications involving a wide range of endogenous, pharmaceutical and environmentally relevant molecules.This comprehensive review aims to present all the significant aspects related to the state of the art in FLEC labeling and subsequent chiral separation of the resulting diastereomers using LC, SFC and CE techniques.