Twenty Years of Separation of Cis‐Trans (Z)‐(E) Isomers

Abstract This review presents a concise survey of articles dealing with the separation of cis‐trans (Z)‐(E) isomers. The geometric isomerism generated by ethylene bonds (carbon‐carbon double bond) is the only one treated. An introduction focuses on the existing chemical nomenclature and the encountered problems in modern analytical and pharmaceutical chemistry. Next, the study is divided into three parts: synthetic compounds, natural compounds, and fatty acids and vitamins. Within this framework, articles have been selected to describe past and current trends in analytical chemistry and outline relevant research interests. Afterwards, the different mechanistic approaches that could explain the separation of such geometrical isomers is reviewed. These approaches may be used to design and to describe more interesting methodologies. Keywords: SeparationZ‐E isomersHPLCSFCcapillary electrophoresis Acknowledgments The author wishes to thank Prof. Alain Nicolas, head of the laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, and Dr. Igor Clarot for their helpful support and discussion during the drafting of this review.