Enantioseparation of alpha-amino acids on an 18-crown-6-tetracarboxylic acid-bonded silica by capillary electrochromatography.

(-)-(18-Crown-6)-2,3,11,12-tetracarboxylic acid-bonded silica was used as the chiral stationary phase in capillary electrochromatography (CEC) for enantioseparation of some alpha-amino acids. Separation data in CEC were measured in mobile phases of varying pH, and composition of methanol and buffer, and compared with those in capillary liquid chromatography (CLC). In CEC better enantioseparation was generally obtained in the eluent of lower pH, higher buffer concentration and intermediate MeOH content, usually at the expense of analysis time. CEC showed generally better enantioselectivity and resolutions than CLC for the amino acids investigated.