Facile enantiomer analysis by combination of N-dansyl amino acid as diastereomerizer and molecular-shape recognitive RP-HPLC using comb-shaped polymer-immobilized silica

Poly(octadecyl acrylate)-grafted silica has been developed as a special stationary phase showing molecular-shape recognition in high-performance liquid chromatography. The bonded polymer phase is characterized by the fact that the polymer forms highly-ordered structures similar to a solvated crystalline state on silica and multiple π-π interaction between carbonyl groups in the polymer and aromatic solutes is promoted. This paper shows that the selectivity for DL-amino acids diastereomerized with N-dansyl L-proline can be enhanced by using the polymer stationary phase instead of octadecylated silica (ODS).