Two Methods for the Determination of Enantiomeric Excess and Concentration of a Chiral Sample with a Single Spectroscopic Measurement

Abstract

The previously established enantioselective indicator–displacement assays (eIDAs) for the determination of concentration and enantiomeric excess (ee) require two spectroscopic measurements for each chiral sample. To further simplify the operation of eIDAs, we now introduce two innovative analytical methods, both of which utilize a dual‐chamber quartz cuvette, which reduces the number of spectroscopic measurements from two to one. An attractive feature of this cuvette is that the concentration‐ and ee‐dependent absorption data can be collected at the isosbestic points or transparent regions of the spectra recorded in each individual chamber, thereby reflecting optical changes that occur in the other chamber. Therefore, two independent equations, which are needed to solve the values of the two independent variables—concentration and ee—can be established with only a single spectroscopic measurement. The first method takes advantage of this feature in conjunction with a judicious choice of indicator/host combinations to generate concentration‐ and ee‐dependent calibration curves. Our second method removes the requirement to measure equilibrium constants and molar absorptivities altogether through the use of artificial neural networks (ANNs). The most frequently used three‐layer feed‐forward network is generated, which relates the absorption data to concentration and ee of the samples by training with a back propagation procedure. Here, the data collection is not limited to the isosbestic points or transparent regions. Both approaches enabled accurate and rapid determination of concentration and ee of chiral samples. The technology removes the relative difficulty, which is the need for two separate measurements for concentration and ee respectively, of analyzing chiral samples compared to achiral samples. When implemented in a high‐throughput format, this technology should greatly facilitate the discovery of asymmetric catalysts in the same way as conventional high‐throughput screening assays.