The two enantiomers of a compound can be separated by

The fact that enantiomers share the majority of their physical characteristics has important practical implications. They cannot be separated using the conventional methods of distillation, crystallisation, or chromatography because they are all equally soluble in a given solvent (unless the solvent is optically active) and have identical boiling points, so they cannot be separated by fractional distillation, fractional crystallisation, or chromatography (unless it is optically active). Therefore, a specific kind of work and a special kind of approach are needed for the resolution of a racemic alteration, which involves separating it into its enantiomers.