Chiral separation of underivatized amino acids in supercritical fluid chromatography with chiral crown ether derived column.

The supercritical fluid chromatographic separation of underivatized amino acids was explored using immobilized chiral crown ether column CROWNPAK CR-I (+) and mass spectrometric detection. The type of modifier, acidic additives, and the role of water were investigated. Enantioseparation was achieved for all 18 amino acids investigated with short retention times (less than 3 minutes) and average resolution of greater than 5.0. Analysis of enantiomerically pure standards demonstrated the D enantiomer eluted first for all amino acids using a CROWNPAK CR-I (+) column.