Theoretical insights into the chiral separation of levobunolol

In this study, we conducted a theoretical investigation to elucidate the chiral recognition mechanisms of polysaccharide-derived stationary phase for the bunolol β-blocker. DFT calculations provided structural and energetic insights, successfully explaining chiral discrimination and enantiomeric elution order obtained in previous HPLC experiments. Our analysis highlighted the crucial role of hydrogen bonding and π–π stacking interactions in determining the relative stability of the diastereomeric complexes formed between the bunolol and chiral selector.