Ristocetin A is one of a series of structurally related amphoteric, glycopeptide, macrocyclic antibiotics. These compounds have several features that make them attractive as chiral selectors. These include spatially oriented functional groups that are known to provide the types of interactions that are conducive to enantio-recognition, a somewhat rigid ''pocket'' that can provide a site for hydrophobic interactions and polar, flexible arms (i.e., pendent sugar moieties) that can rotate to hydrogen bond and otherwise interact with a variety of chiral analytes. In addition, these compounds are sufficiently soluble in water, aqueous buffers and aqueous-organic solvents that are commonly used in capillary electrophoresis (CE). The use and optimization of ristocetin A as a chiral selector in CE is discussed. Over 120 racemates are resolved including a variety of N-blocked amino acids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory compounds and a large number of biologically important compounds containing carboxylic acid groups (e.g., mandelic acid derivatives, lactic acid derivatives, folinic acid, tropic acid).
