CHROMATOGRAPHIC-SEPARATION OF THE OPTICAL ISOMERS OF NAPROXEN

Naproxen, (S)-6-methoxy-alpha-methyl-2-naphthyleneacetic acid, is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, which is administered as a single enantiomer. Two different approaches applying high-performance liquid chromatography for the determination of the optical purity of naproxen are described. One method involves the derivatization of naproxen with 3,5-dinitroaniline and separation of the amide derivatives on a (R)-N-(2-naphtyl)alanine chiral stationary phase. The second method is a direct separation of naproxen optical isomers using alpha-1-acid glycoprotein columns. The latter method has been studied in detail to address the effects of temperature, ionic strength, pH and concentration of mobile phase buffer on enantiomeric resolution.