Our research is concerned with the resolution of complex mixtures into their individual components and understanding the basic mechanisms responsible for these separations.
Methods employed include chromatography and capillary zone electrophoresis.
One area of particular interest is in the development of new techniques for chiral separations. In an achiral environment, enantiomers exhibit identical physical and chemical properties. Hence, many of the traditional separation methods, which are fundamentally based on differences in analyte solubility or volatility, are inadequate for the resolution of optical isomers. Our research effort is directed toward development of new strategies for chiral separations and includes synthesis and characterization of new chromatographic stationary phases. Potential chiral selectors are screened as chiral additives in thin layer and capillary zone electrophoresis.