KINETIC AND EQUILIBRIUM STUDY OF THE SEPARATION OF PROPRANOLOL ENANTIOMERS BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY ON A CHIRAL ADSORBENT

The kinetic and equilibrium constants for the chromatographic enantios eparation of racemic propranolol, using cellulose tri(3,5-dimethyl-phe nylcarbamate) as the chiral stationary phase and hexane and isopropano l as the mobile phase, were evaluated by moment analysis on the basis of equilibrium-dispersive and linear driving force models. The overall mass transfer coefficients were evaluated to be 0.56 s(-1) and 1.08 s (-1) for the S-(-) and R-(+) enantiomers of propranolol. Other system properties, required as input parameters for the modelling and simulat ion of the process under consideration, including the voidage of the c olumn and the axial dispersion coefficient, were also determined. The parameters obtained were used to simulate the two single enantiomer ba nd profiles at different flow rates. The simulated results were found to match the experimental results quite well. These parameters are ver y important for the design of preparative chromatography. (C) 1998 Els evier Science S.A. All rights reserved.