We report the use of a chiral Cu(II) 3D metal-organic framework (MOF) based on the tripeptide Gly-l-His-Gly (GHG) for the enantioselective separation of metamphetamine and ephedrine. Monte Carlo simulations suggest that chiral recognition is linked to preferential binding of one of the enantiomers as a result of either stronger or additional H-bonds with the framework that lead to energetically more stable diastereomeric adducts. Solid-phase extraction of a racemic mixture by using Cu(GHG) as the extractive phase permits isolating >50% of the (+)-ephedrine enantiomer as target compound in only 4 min. To our knowledge, this represents the first example of a MOF capable of separating chiral polar drugs.

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A chromatographic system for the on-line derivatization of drugs using column switching is described. The system uses a 20 mm x 2.1 mm i.d. precolumn packed with a unmodified ODS stationary phase. This column is used for sample cleanup and enrichment of the analytes. Next, the trapped analytes are derivatized by injection of the derivatization reagent into the precolumn. Finally, the derivatives are transferred to the analytical column for their separation under reversed-phase conditions. The influence of several parameters such as the reaction time, the amount of derivatization reagents, or the system design has been studied some amphetamines as model compounds and three derivatization reagents: sodium 1, 2-naphthoquinone-4-sulfonate, o-phthaldialdehyde, and 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate. The potential of the described approach is illustrated by determining amphetamine and methamphetamine in untreated urine at ambient temperature.