GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHIC SEPARATION OF THE ENANTIOMERS OF VOLATILE FLUOROETHER ANESTHETICS BY DERIVATIZED CYCLODEXTRINS .3. PREPARATIVE-SCALE SEPARATIONS FOR ENFLURANE

Preparative-scale gas chromatographic separation of the enantiomers of enflurane, a volatile anesthetic, has been achieved with a 1 m long, 10 mm I.D. column, packed with 25% (w/w) trifluoroacetyl-gamma-cyclode xtrin-coated 60/80 mesh Chromosorb A, installed in a custom-designed p reparative gas chromatograph. An effluent-sampling interface valve, lo cated between the exit of the preparative column and the fraction coll ector, takes 10-mu 1 samples of the effluent every 15 s and sends them onto a short, efficient analytical capillary column providing on-line enantiomeric analysis of the eluting bands. This permits the precise calculation of product purity, recovery and production rate for the pr eparative separation and leads to aggressive, yet safe, fraction pooli ng schemes.