Separation of terbutaline enantiomers in capillary electrophoresis with neutral cyclodextrin-type chiral selectors and investigation of the structure of selector-selectand complexes using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

The major goal of this study was to determine the affinity pattern of the terbutaline (TB) enantiomers toward α-, ß-, γ-, and heptakis(2,3-di-O-acetyl)-ß-cyclodextrins and using NMR spectroscopy for the understanding of the fine mechanisms of interaction between the cyclodextrins (CD) and TB enantiomers. It was shown once again that CE in combination with NMR spectroscopy represents a sensitive tool to study the affinity patterns and structure of CD complexes with chiral guests. Opposite affinity patterns of TB enantiomers toward native α- and ß-CDs were associated with significant differences between the structure of the related complexes in solution. In particular, the complex between TB enantiomers and α-CD was of the external type, whereas an inclusion complex was formed between TB enantiomers and ß-CD. One of the possible structures of the complex between TB and heptakis(2,3-di-O-acetyl)-ß-CD (HDA-ß-CD) was quite similar to that of TB and ß-CD, although the chiral recognition pattern and enantioselectivity of TB complexation with these two CDs were very different.

Preparation of a thiols ß-cyclodextrin/gold nanoparticles-coated open tubular column for capillary electrochromatography enantioseparations.

Inspired by the distinct chemical and physical properties of nanoparticles, here a novel open-tubular capillary electrochromatography column was prepared by electrostatic assembly of poly(diallydimethylammonium chloride) onto the inner surface of a fused-silica capillary, followed by self-adsorption of negatively charged SH-ß-cyclodextrin/gold nanoparticles. The formation of the SH-ß-cyclodextrin/gold nanoparticles coated capillary was confirmed and characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry. The results of scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry studies indicated that SH-ß-cyclodextrin/gold nanoparticles were successfully coated on the inner wall of the capillary column. The performance of the SH-ß-cyclodextrin/gold nanoparticles coated capillary was validated by the analysis of six pairs of chiral drugs, namely zopiclone, carvedilol, salbutamol, terbutaline sulfate, phenoxybenzamine hydrochloride, and ibuprofen. Satisfactory enantioseparation results were achieved, confirming the use of gold nanoparticles as the support could enhance the phase ratio of the open-tubular capillary column. Additionally, the stability and reproducibility of the SH-ß-cyclodextrin/gold nanoparticles coated capillary column were also investigated. Then, this proposed method was well validated with good linearity (≥0.999), recovery (90.0-93.5%) and repeatability, and was successfully used for enantioseparation of ibuprofen in spiked plasma samples, which indicated the new column's potential usage in biological analysis.

Comparative analysis of the full set of methylated ß-cyclodextrins as chiral selectors in capillary electrophoresis.

The chiral separation ability of the full library of methylated-ß-cyclodextrins towards pharmacologically significant racemic drugs including basic compounds was studied by chiral CE. The syntheses of all the methylated, single isomer ß-cyclodextrins were revised and optimized and the aqueous solubility of the derivatives was unambiguously established. The three most relevant commercially available methylated isomeric mixtures were also included in the screening, so a total of ten various methylated CDs were investigated. The effects of the selector concentration on the enantiorecognition properties at acidic pH were investigated. Among the dimethylated ß-cyclodextrins, the heptakis (2,6-di-O-methyl)-ß-cyclodextrin isomer (2,6-DIMEB) resulted to be the most versatile chiral selector. Terbutaline was selected as a model compound for the in-depth investigation of host-guest enantiodiscrimination ability. The association constants between the two terbutaline enantiomers and 2,6-DIMEB were determined in order to support that the enantioseparation is driven by differences is host-guest binding. The migration order of the enantiomers was confirmed by performing spiking experiments with the pure enantiomers. 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy was applied to the 2,3-, and 2,6-DIMEB/terbutaline systems to rationalize at molecular level the different enantioseparation ability of the dimethylated ß-cyclodextrin selectors.

In situ immobilization of sulfated-ß-cyclodextrin as stationary phase for capillary electrochromatography enantioseparation.

In this work, a novel sulfated-ß-cyclodextrin (S-ß-CD) coated stationary phase was prepared for open-tubular capillary electrochromatography (OT-CEC). The capillary was developed by attaching polydopamine/sulfated-ß-cyclodextrin (PDA/S-ß-CD) onto the gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) coated capillary which was pretreated with polydopamine. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis spectroscopy (EDS) indicated that polydopamine/sulfated-ß-cyclodextrin was successfully fixed on the gold nanoparticles coated capillary. To evaluate the performance of the prepared open tubular (OT) column, the enantioseparation was carried out by using ten chiral drugs as model analytes. Under the optimal conditions, salbutamol, terbutaline, trantinterol, tulobuterol, clorprenaline, pheniramine, chlorpheniramine, brompheniramine, isoprenaline and tolterodine were baseline separated with the resolution (Rs) values of 3.25, 1.76, 2.51, 1.89, 3.17, 2.17, 1.99, 1.72, 2.01 and 3.20, respectively. Repeatability of the column was studied, with the relative standard deviations for run-to-run, day-to-day and column-to-column lower than 5.7%.

Separation of terbutaline enantiomers in capillary electrophoresis with cyclodextrin-type chiral selectors and investigation of structure of selector-selectand complexes.

The affinity pattern of terbutaline enantiomers towards various cyclodextrins was studied using capillary electrophoresis. The affinity pattern of terbutaline enantiomers was the same towards all studied cyclodextrins except heptakis(2-O-methyl-3,6-di-O-sulfo)-ß-CD. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used for understanding of fine structural mechanisms of interactions of ß-cyclodextrin and its two sulfated derivatives with the enantiomers of terbutaline. The structure of terbutaline complexes with all 3 cyclodextrins studied was different from each other. In confirmation with our earlier studies it was shown again that capillary electrophoresis represents very sensitive technique for studies of affinity patterns in cyclodextrin complexes with chiral guests. Other instrumental (e.g. NMR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis) and theoretical techniques, although very useful for obtaining the information regarding the stoichiometry, binding constants and structure of intermolecular complexes, as well as about the forces involved in selector-selectand binding and chiral recognition, may sometimes fail to properly sense those fine differences in the affinity patterns. Therefore, it is recommended to use capillary electrophoresis in order to examine correctness of affinity pattern determined for intermolecular complexes of cyclodextrins with guest molecules by other instrumental or computation techniques.

Enantioselective resolution of Rac-terbutaline and evaluation of optically pure R-terbutaline hydrochloride as an efficient anti-asthmatic drug.

Terbutaline is a ß2 -adrenoceptor agonist for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Among the two isomers of terbutaline (TBT 2), R-isomer was found to be the potent enantiomer in generating therapeutic effect, while S-isomer has been reported to show side effects. In this study, R-terbutaline hydrochloride (R-TBH 6) was synthesized through chiral resolution from the racemic terbutaline sulfate (rac-TBS 1) with 99.9% enantiomeric excess (ee) in good overall yield (53.6%). Further, R-TBH 6 nebulized solution was prepared in half dosage of Bricanyl®, which is a marketed product of racemic terbutaline and evaluated in vitro aerosol performance and in vivo anti-asthmatic effect on guinea pigs via. pulmonary delivery. From the investigation, it is evident that R-TBH 6 nebulized solution of half dosage performed similar fine aerosol characteristics and anti-asthmatic effect with Bricanyl®.

Capillary electrophoretic enantioseparation of basic drugs using a new single-isomer cyclodextrin derivative and theoretical study of the chiral recognition mechanism.

A novel single-isomer cyclodextrin derivative, heptakis {2,6-di-O-[3-(1,3-dicarboxyl propylamino)-2-hydroxypropyl]}-ß-cyclodextrin (glutamic acid-ß-cyclodextrin) was synthesized and used as a chiral selector in capillary electrophoresis for the enantioseparation of 12 basic drugs, including terbutaline, clorprenaline, tulobuterol, clenbuterol, procaterol, carvedilol, econazole, miconazole, homatropine methyl bromide, brompheniramine, chlorpheniramine and pheniramine. The primary factors affecting separation efficiency, which include the background electrolyte pH, the concentration of glutamic acid-ß-cyclodextrin and phosphate buffer concentration, were investigated. Satisfactory enantioseparations were obtained using an uncoated fused-silica capillary of 50 cm (effective length 40 cm) × 50 µm id with 120 mM phosphate buffer (pH 2.5-4.0) containing 0.5-4.5 mM glutamic acid-ß-cyclodextrin as background electrolyte. A voltage of 20 kV was applied and the capillary temperature was kept at 20°C. The results proved that glutamic acid-ß-cyclodextrin was an effective chiral selector for studied 12 basic drugs. Moreover, the possible chiral recognition mechanism of brompheniramine, chlorpheniramine and pheniramine on glutamic acid-ß-cyclodextrin was investigated using the semi-empirical Parametric Method 3.

Preparation of a ß-Cyclodextrin-Based Open-Tubular Capillary Electrochromatography Column and Application for Enantioseparations of Ten Basic Drugs.

An open-tubular capillary electrochromatography column was prepared by chemically immobilized ß-cyclodextrin modified gold nanoparticles onto new surface with the prederivatization of (3-mercaptopropyl)-trimethoxysilane. The synthesized nanoparticles and the prepared column were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy and ultraviolet visible spectroscopy. When the column was employed as the chiral stationary phase, no enantioselectivity was observed for ten model basic drugs. So ß-cyclodextrin was added to the background electrolyte as chiral additive to expect a possible synergistic effect occurring and resulting in a better separation. Fortunately, significant improvement in enantioselectivity was obtained for ten pairs of drug enantiomers. Then, the effects of ß-cyclodextrin concentration and background electrolyte pH on the chiral separation were investigated. With the developed separation mode, all the enantiomers (except for venlafaxine) were baseline separated in resolutions of 4.49, 1.68, 1.88, 1.57, 2.52, 2.33, 3.24, 1.63 and 3.90 for zopiclone, chlorphenamine maleate, brompheniramine maleate, dioxopromethazine hydrochloride, carvedilol, homatropine hydrobromide, homatropine methylbromide, venlafaxine, sibutramine hydrochloride and terbutaline sulfate, respectively. Further, the possible separation mechanism involved was discussed.

Photochemical transformation of terbutaline (pharmaceutical) in simulated natural waters: degradation kinetics and mechanisms.

In this study, varied nature organic matter isolates were employed to investigate the indirect photo transformation of terbutaline, which is a major feed additive medicine to increase the proportion of lean meat in the livestock. In the indirect photolysis of terbutaline under solar simulated irradiation, (1)O2 plays an important role among the •OH and (3)DOM*. The reaction rate constant of (1)O2 was determined as (7.1 ± 0.3) × 10(6) M(-1) s(-1) at pH 7.0, while the reaction rate constant of •OH was (6.87 ± 0.43) × 10(9) M(-1) s(-1). The contribution of singlet oxygen to the indirect photolysis of terbutaline (19-44%) was higher than that of the hydroxyl radical (1-7%). The pseudo first order rate constants for the photodegradation of terbutaline increase with increasing pH, which indicates that pH mainly affects the reaction rate of the singlet oxygen with the phenolic part of the terbutaline. The Quinone was identified as the main photosensitized product through LC-MS/MS analysis. It is also proposed that the degradation pathway of terbutaline involves reaction between the phenolic part of terbutaline and singlet oxygen. This finding strongly suggests that singlet oxygen was important factor for the photodegradation of terbutaline in natural waters.

Effect of chromatographic conditions on liquid chromatographic chiral separation of terbutaline and salbutamol on Chirobiotic V column.

In this study, a method for enantioseparation of terbutaline and salbutamol was established using Chirobiotic V column as a stationary phase. Polar ionic mode applying mobile phase containing ammonium nitrate in 100% ethanol, pH 5.1 was found to give the best separation. The salt concentration in the mobile phase and pH value were found to be the most important chromatographic factors affecting separation. Separation of enantiomers of these two basic analytes was complete in less than 10 min without applying ammonium trifluoroacetate (ATFA) or triethylamine (TEA) salts.

Stability indicating HPTLC method for determination of terbutaline sulfate in bulk and from submicronized dry powder inhalers.

A stability-indicating high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method has been developed for the determination of terbutaline sulfate (TBS) as a bulk drug and in pharmaceutical formulations (submicronized dry powder inhalers). The separation was achieved on TLC aluminum plates precoated with silica gel 60F-254 using chloroform-methanol (9.0:1.0 v/v) as mobile phase. The densitometric analysis was carried out at 366 nm wavelength. Compact spots appeared at R(f) = 0.34 +/- 0.02. For the proposed procedure, linearity (r(2) = 0.9956 +/- 0.0015), limit of quantification (28.35 ng spot(-1)), limit of detection (9.41 ng spot(-1)), recovery (97.06-99.56%), and precision (< or = 1.86) were found to be satisfactory. TBS was subjected to acid and alkali hydrolyses, oxidation and photodegradation treatments. The degraded products were well separated from the pure drug. Statistical analysis reveals that the developed method has potential for routine analysis and stability testing of terbutaline sulfate in pharmaceutical drug delivery systems.

Improved simultaneous enantioseparation of beta-agonists in CE using beta-CD and ionic liquids.

In this study, approaches to improve chiral resolutions in simultaneous enantioseparation of beta-agonists by CE via a CD inclusion complexation modified with ionic liquids (ILs) are described. Different types of ILs, including tetraalkylammonium-based ILs, alkylimidazolium-based ILs and alkylpyridinium-based ILs, were examined and compared for controlling the EOF in order to improve resolutions of beta-agonists enantiomers. In this regard, tetraalkylammonium-based ILs were more effective because they could be used at much higher concentrations than other types of ILs. N-octylpyridinium hexafluorophosphate gave poor resolutions of beta-agonists enantiomers. In addition, when different ILs were mixed to use, they would present particular properties of their own. Moreover, the presence of ILs was essential in the chiral separations of (+/-) salbutamol, (+/-) cimaterol and (+/-) formoterol, which were reportedly not enantioseparated by using the buffer electrolytes containing only beta-CD as a chiral selector.

Terbutaline enantiomer separation and quantification by complexation and field asymmetric ion mobility spectrometry-tandem mass spectrometry.

Recently, we introduced a new approach to chiral separation and analysis of amino acids by chiral complexation and electrospray high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry coupled to mass spectrometry (ESI-FAIMS-MS). In the present work, we extended this approach to the separation of the drug compound terbutaline. Terbutaline enantiomers were complexed with metal ions and an amino acid to form diastereomeric complexes of the type [M(II)(L-Ref)2((+)/(-)-A)-H](+), where M(II) is a divalent metal ion, L-Ref is an amino acid in its L-form, and A is the terbutaline analyte. When metal and reference compound were suitably chosen, these complexes were separable by FAIMS. We also detected and characterized larger clusters that were transmitted at distinct FAIMS compensation voltages (CV), disturbing data analysis by disintegrating after the FAIMS separation and forming complexes of the same composition [M(II)(L-Ref)2((+)/(-)-A)-H](+), thus giving rise to additional peaks in the FAIMS CV spectra. This undesired phenomenon could be largely avoided by adjusting the mass spectrometer skimmer voltages in such a way that said larger clusters remained intact. In the quantitative part of the present work, we achieved a limit of detection of 0.10% (-)-terbutaline in a sample of (+)-terbutaline. The limit of detection and analysis time per sample compared favorably to literature values for chiral terbutaline separation by HPLC and CE.

Simultaneous separation of eight beta-adrenergic drugs using titanium dioxide nanoparticles as additive in capillary electrophoresis.

The analysis is described for separating seven beta-adrenergic blocking agents (atenolol, celiprolol, clorprenaline, fenoterol, metoprolol, propranolol, terbutaline) and clenbuterol (sympathomimetic beta-2 receptor stimulating agonist, decongestant and bronchodilator, illicit anabolic used in athletics) by CE with UV detection. In order to simultaneously separate all analytes, Tris-H3PO4 solution was applied containing titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) as BGEs. The effects of important factors, such as concentration of TiO2 NPs, optimum pH, run buffer concentration, and separation voltage, were investigated so as to achieve best CE separation. The eight analytes could be well separated applying a separation voltage of 15 kV in 75 mM Tris-H3PO4 buffer at a pH of 2.40, containing 6.0 x 10(-6) g/mL TiO2 NPs. Under these optimal conditions, the RSDs for peak areas and for migration times were less than 2.7 and 2.3%, respectively. The detection limits were 0.1 microg/mL for celiprolol, 0.1 microg/mL for propranolol, 0.2 microg/mL for fenoterol, 1.0 microg/mL for atenolol, 1.0 microg/mL for clenbuterol, 1.0 microg/mL for clorprenaline, 1.0 microg/mL for metoprolol, and 1.0 microg/mL for terbutaline. The proposed method was successfully applied for the rapid CE determination of the frequently applied antihypertensive beta-blocking compounds atenolol, metoprolol, terbutaline, and propranolol in pharmaceutical tablets.

Factorial design applied to a non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis method for the separation of beta-agonists.

The aim of this work was to study the effects of both chemical and instrumental parameters on the separation of beta-agonists (clenbuterol (CLE), salbutamol (SAL) and terbutaline (TER)) by non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) method. Due to the number of parameters involved and their interactions, factorial experimental designs (EDs) at two levels was applied to investigate the influence of experimental factors (ionic strength of the background electrolyte (BGE), organic solvent, injection time, voltage and temperature) in sets of several CE responses (resolution, (RS), number of theoretical plate (N), tailing factor (TF) and migration time (tm)). As a compromise between the four responses, the optimum condition was obtained in 18 mM ammonium acetate in methanol (MeOH):acetonitrile (ACN):glacial acetic acid (66:33:1%, v/v/v) using an injection time of 4 s, the voltage and the temperature of 28 kV and 24 degrees C, respectively. The proposed NACE permitted the baseline separation of the three beta-agonists within 10.5 min with good repeatability (%RSD < 3.5%) and linearity (r2 > 0.99). The developed method was applicable for the analysis of the beta-agonists in syrup and tablets and the NACE condition was compatible with a mass spectrometer detector.

Preparative HPLC separation of bambuterol enantiomers and stereoselective inhibition of human cholinesterases.

We separated and characterized the enantiomers of bambuterol (5-[-(tert-butylamino)-1-hydroxyethyl]-m-phenylene-bis(dimethylcarbamate) hydrochloride), which is used in racemic form as a prodrug of terbutaline, a beta(2)-adrenoceptor agonist. The enantioseparation was attempted on several chiral HPLC columns, and the most effective separation was achieved on the amylose-based Chiralpak AD column. Since in vivo conversion of bambuterol into terbutaline involves hydrolysis by butyrylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.8), we studied the reaction of enantiomers with eight human BChE variants. Both enantiomers inhibited all studied BChE variants; however, the rate of inhibition with the (R)-enantiomer was about five times faster than with the (S)-enantiomer. (R)-bambuterol inhibition rate constants for homozygous usual (UU), fluoride-resistant (FF) or atypical (AA) variant ranged from 6.4 to 0.11 min(-1)microM(-1). The inhibition rates for heterozygotes were between the respective constants for the corresponding homozygotes.

Extraction and preconcentration of salbutamol and terbutaline from aqueous samples using hollow fiber supported liquid membrane containing anionic carrier.

This paper presents a new three-phase liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) strategy for extraction and preconcentration of salbutamol (SB) and terbutaline (TB) from aqueous samples, including urine. The drugs were extracted from 11 ml of aqueous sample (source phase; SP) into an organic phase with microliter volume located inside the pores of a polypropylene hollow fiber, and then back-extracted into 24 microl of a second aqueous solution as the receiving phase (RP), located in the lumen of the hollow fiber. In preliminary experiments, we tried to transport the drugs using a pH gradient between the two sides of the hollow fiber. Due to the existence of both amine and phenolic groups on the drugs, very little transport occurred and enrichment factors (EF) less than one were obtained. Further experiments were done in the presence of bis(2-ethylhexyl) monohydrogenphosphoric acid (D2EHPA) or methyltrioctylammonium chloride (Aliquat 336) in the organic phase, to extract drugs from acidic and basic matrices, respectively. Results showed that transport of drugs from alkaline solution into 1M of sodium bromide occurred when the membrane was impregnated with dihexyl ether containing 20% Aliquat 336. To optimize the EF, the effects of different parameters such as the nature of organic solvent used to impregnate the membrane, compositions and volumes of SP and RP, type and concentration of carrier, extraction time and stirring rate were investigated. Optimal results were obtained in the presence of 0.005 M of NaOH (pH 11.70) in the SP, 1M of NaBr in the RP, 20% of Aliquat 336 in dihexyl ether as membrane impregnation solvent, stirring rate of 500 rpm and extraction time of 60 min. Under these conditions, enrichment factors of 52.9 and 213.1, dynamic linear ranges of 20-5000 and 10-5000, and limits of detection of 2.5 and 0.5 ng/ml were obtained for salbutamol and terbutaline, respectively. Also determination of drugs in environmental water and urine samples in the range of nanograms per millilitre with RSDs<10% was possible using HPLC-photodiode array detection or HPLC-MS.

Fast enantiomeric separation of basis drugs by electrokinetic chromatography. Application to the quantitation of terbutaline in a pharmaceutical preparation.

Electrokinetic chromatography (EKC) using micelles of bile salts alone or mixed with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and neutral, anionic, or cationic cyclodextrins (CDs) in the separation buffer has been employed in order to achieve fast enantiomeric separation of basic drugs. A study of the enantiomeric separation ability of these chiral selectors concerning four basic drugs (epinephrine, terbutaline, clenbuterol, and salbutamol) has been carried out under different experimental conditions. The best chiral selectors to perform the enantiomeric separation of these drugs were neutral beta-CD derivatives, specifically permethylated beta-CD PM-beta-CD. The effect of the PM-beta-CD concentration, temperature, and applied voltage on the enantiomeric resolution of the basic drugs was investigated. The use of a 25 mM ammonium acetate buffer (pH 5.0), 30 mM in PM-beta-CD together with an applied voltage of 20 kV and a temperature of 15 degrees C enabled the individual and fast enantiomeric separation of epinephrine, norepinephrine, terbutaline, clenbuterol, and salbutamol each one into its two enantiomers in less than 3 min. The EKC method was validated (precision and accuracy) to quantitate terbutaline in a pharmaceutical preparation, obtaining a limit of detection of 4 microg/mL.

Improved preparative-scale. continuous, free-flow electrophoretic separation of the enantiomers of terbutaline utilizing equal-but-opposite enantiomer mobilities.

The factors that influence yield and product purity in the continuous, preparative-scale electrophoretic separation of the enantiomers of terbutaline when using the principle of equal-but-opposite effective mobilities were studied. The sodium salt of heptakis-6-sulfato-beta-cyclodextrin was used as the resolving agent, in acidic, isopropanol-containing background electrolytes, in the continuous, free-flow, preparative electrophoretic instrument, the Octopus. By matching the linear velocity of the feed solution to that of the background electrolyte, lateral hydrodynamic dispersion was minimized resulting in a nonelectrophoresed feed band that was only three fractions (about 3 mm) wide as it exited the 0.5 m long separation channel. The multiple of residence time and applied potential was also optimized, constrained by migration of the front of heptakis-6-sulfato-beta-cyclodextrin out of the separation zone, leading to the recovery of 95% of both enantiomers in better than 99.99% purity, at a production rate of 0.1 mg/h.

Use of single-isomer, multiply charge chiral resolving agents for the continuous, preparative-scale electrophoretic separation of enantiomers based on the principle of equal-but-opposite analyte mobilities.

A novel approach to continuous, preparative-scale electrophoretic enantiomer separations has been developed based on the observation that stable, equal-but-opposite effective mobilities can be created for the enantiomers of a single-charged analyte by complexing them with a single-isomer, multiply charged resolving agent, provided that the charge of the resolving agent is opposite in sign to that of the uncomplexed analyte enantiomers. When such an analyte-resolving agent system is fed into a continuous, free-flow electrophoretic apparatus, stable, steady-state operating conditions can be established which permit the continuous feeding of the racemic analyte and the collection of pure enantiomers at the opposite sides of the feed stream. This concept is demonstrated via the separation of the enantiomers of terbutaline using heptakis-6-sulfato beta-cyclodextrin as resolving agent, affording production rates as high as 2.8 mg/h in the general-purpose, continuous free-flow electrophoretic system, the Octopus.