Chiral derivatization

Derivatization before chromatographic separation may serve several purposes, such as to increase detectability and to improve chromatographic properties. Derivatization of chiral substances is carried out with both chiral and achiral reagents. The latter may serve to block functional groups which may cause excessive band broadening on chiral columns (e.g, amines), or to introduce groups which interact favourably with the chiral stationary phase (e.g. dinitrobenzoyl-derivatives, Pirkle and Finn, 1983). In analytical applications, derivatization with achiral reagents may be needed for detection purposes.