Determination of Enantiomeric Composition of Pharmaceutical Compounds using Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (ESI-MS)

The work in this thesis has demonstrated the chiral recognition through the adaptation of chromatographically derived chiral recognition systems by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Mass-labeled, pseudoenantiomeric chiral selectors (where each pseudoenantiomer had the opposite stereochemistry, but was slightly different in mass due to labeling of one enantiomer) were prepared as soluble analogues of Pirkle type chiral stationary phases. When mixed with a chiral analyte, solutions containing these pseudoenantiomeric selectors afforded selector-analyte complexes in the ESI-MS, and the relative peak intensities of the complexes could be related back to the enantiomeric composition of the analyte. In each case of this study, the complex intensity fraction for either of the selector-analyte complexes in the ESI-MS varies linearly with the enantiomeric composition of the analyte. This linear relationship provides a measure of the extent of enantioselectivity and allows quantitative analysis of the enantiomeric composition of analyte