Undergraduate Student (2007)

Department of Chemical Engineering
Doherty Hall Room A206
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-268-9836 (lab)
412-268-7139 (fax)

A rather lucrative goal of the pharmaceutical industry today is the separation of chiral molecules. Chiral molecules have the same atomic make-up, however differ in that they are nonsuperimposable mirror images of one another. The different molecules are denoted as being R or S enantiomers, depending on the way the atoms are arranged. In natural organisms, it is frequently the case that only one of the two enantiomers exists, and therefore to introduce the other enantiomer could possibly have catastrophic results. One popular example is the molecule thalidomide. While one enantiomer offers relief from morning sickness in pregnant women, the other causes birth defects. It is clear to see that a drug which is pure of the helpful molecule is highly desired.

Gas chromatography is one method in use for separating these chiral molecules. Presently, a thin liquid coating on the walls of a capillary column controls the elution time of the molecules, causing one enantiomer to elute more slowly than the other. However, this separation technique lacks efficiency due to the molecules behaving similarly enough that their elution times are not highly changed.

A new form of chiral stationary phases are being developed in the hope to increase the efficiency of separting these chiral molecules through differing elution times.

Coming Soon.