Simple gas chromatographic method for the stereodifferentiation of methyl nilate, a chiral α-methyl-β-hydroxy ester

The four stereoisomers of methyl nilate, methyl 3-hydroxy-2-methylbutanoate, have been separated and analyzed by the direct simultaneous achiral-chiral high-resolution gas chromatography (HRGC) and also by the chiral high-resolution gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HRGC-TOF-MS). The method involved the use of DB-5 and CP Chirasil-Dex CB columns. The elution sequences on the two columns were determined and are reported. The one-step GC method allows the identification by retention data and simultaneously to determine unequivocally the absolute configuration of nilic acid moieties contained in minor complex natural products without previous isolation, as part of a general strategy for the structure determination of the compounds.