Liquid chromatographic separation of the enantiomers of trans-chlordane, cis-chlordane, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide and α-hexachlorocyclohexane with application to small-scale preparative separation

Analytical high-performance liquid chromatographic separations of the individual enantiomers of five polychlorinated compounds were obtained on polysaccharide stereoselective HPLC columns. The enantiomers of the pesticides trans-chlordane, cis-chlordane and heptachlor were separated on CHIRALCEL®OD using a hexane mobile phase. The enantiomers of the heptachlor metabolite, heptachlor epoxide, were separated on CHIRALPAK®AD using a methanol mobile phase. The enantiomers of α-hexachlorocyclohexane (α-HCH), were separated on CHIRALCEL®OJ using a hexane/2-propanol mobile phase. Similar chromatographic conditions using preparative columns were used to isolate approximately 250 mg of each of the individual enantiomers. The purified individual enantiomers have been submitted for testing of their endocrine disruptor (ED) activity.