Separation of racemic 2,4-dinitrophenyl amino acids on zirconia-immobilized quinine carbamate in reversed-phase liquid chromatography

Zirconia is known to be one of the best chromatographic support materials due to its excellent chemical, thermal, and mechanical stability. A quinine carbamate-coated zirconia was prepared as a chiral stationary phase for separation of enantiomers of DNP-amino acids in reversed-phase liquid chromatography. Retention and enantioselectivity of this phase were compared to those for quinine carbamate bonded onto silica. Most amino acids studied were separated on the quinine carbamate-zirconia CSP although retention was longer and chiral selectivity was somewhat lower than on the corresponding silica CSP. Increased retention and decreased selectivity are probably due to strong non-enantioselective Lewis acid-base interactions between the amino acid molecule and the residual Lewis acid sites on the zirconia surface.