Enantioseparation of four amide herbicide stereoisomers using high-performance liquid chromatography

•Enantioseparation of four amide herbicides was completed on different chiral columns.•Amide herbicides with only a C-chirality were more easily separated.•CSPs and mobile phases played significant roles in the enantioseparations.•The elution order for the three amide herbicides with one chiral location was R-, S-.•Molecule dockings can be used to explain certain separation mechanisms.

The chirality of herbicides has been the focus of research. However, there is little information on the enantioseparation of amide herbicides with different chiral elements. In this study, the need for different chiral stationary phases (CSPs), mobile phases, temperatures and flow rates for the separation of napropamide, acetochlor and propisochlor was discussed in detail and compared to metolachlor. Resolution of C-chiral enantiomers was easier than that of axial-chiral enantiomers. Metolachlor and acetochlor could achieve baseline separation only on AY-H and AS-H columns, respectively. Propisochlor had satisfactory separations on OD-H and AS-H columns. Napropamide was separated on OJ-H, AY-H and AS-H columns. Both the structures of the compounds and CSPs and the interactions between them played significant roles in the enantioseparations. Molecule dockings were also used to elucidate the separation mechanisms. C-chiral enantiomers had perfect symmetry in their optical properties, whereas the axial-chiral enantiomers did not. The elution order for napropamide, acetochlor and propisochlor, with a single chiral location, was R- prior to S-. These results were the first that compare the enantioseparations of four amide herbicides with different chirality, and they provided the absolute configurations for the herbicides. The paper also illustrated certain mechanisms for enantioseparations.