Displacement study on a vancomycin-based stationary phase using N-acetyl-D-alanine as a competing agent.

The analysis of the binding data of D,L-dansyl amino acids on a vancomycin stationary phase is investigated in relation to the addition of N-acetyl-D-alanine in the mobile phase. This eluent additive acts as a specific competing agent for the aglycone pocket of the immobilized chiral selector. A model taking into account both stereoselective and nonstereoselective interactions between the solutes and the stationary phase is used to fit the experimental data. From the results, the theoretical approach is considered to be adequate to describe the competing agent dependence on solute retention. To the best of our knowledge, this report constitutes the first example of a displacement study on a macrocyclic antibiotic stationary phase. This work shows that dansyl amino acids bind to the active aglycone pocket of the selector and that this interaction is enantioselective. The results also demonstrate that additional enantioselective sites at the vancomycin surface are involved in the chiral discrimination of these solutes.