Preparation and characterization of mesoporous silicas modified with chiral selectors as stationary phase for high-performance liquid chromatography

•New materials were prepared as novel chiral stationary phases for HPLC.•Erythromycin and vancomycin were used as chiral selectors to functionalize mesoporous silicas.•The chiral stationary phases were tested for the separation of β-blockers.

New hybrid materials were prepared as novel chiral stationary phases (CSPs) for high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Pure mesoporous silica (SM) and ethylene-bridged periodic mesostructured organosilica (PMO) were functionalized, by a post-synthesis method, with derivates of erythromycin and vancomycin. N2 adsorption–desorption measurements, XRD, FT-IR, MAS NMR, SEM, TEM and elemental analysis were used to characterize the physico-chemical properties of these mesostructured materials, before and after the modification process. The synthesized particles had non-symmetrical 3-D wormhole-like mesostructure, spherical morphology, and a mean pore diameter between 53 and 59 Å. CSPs prepared were tested for the separation of four chiral β-blockers (atenolol, metoprolol, pindolol and propranolol) in normal phase (NP) and polar organic phase (PO) elution modes. Much stronger chiral interaction was observed in vancomycin-modified silicas. Results obtained in these preliminary studies will permit in future works to improve the synthesis route in order to design mesoporous materials with better performance as a chiral stationary phase for HPLC.

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