Can Enantiomers Be Separated by Crystallization?

Because the physical properties of enantiomers are identical, they seldom can be separated by simple physical methods, such as fractional crystallization or distillation.

Can diastereomers be separated by crystallization?

Diastereomers are not MIRROR IMAGES; diastereomers contain at least 2 chiral centres that can be RS or SS (for instance). Since they are not mirror images, they can in principle be separated by physical means; usually by fractional crystallization to the nth degree.

How is it possible to separate enantiomers?

You can separate the enantiomers from racemic mixtures by (a) mechanical separation, (b) reaction with enzymes, (c) formation of diastereomers, and (d) chromatography. If the enantiomers are solids, you can use tweezers to separate the crystals based on their shapes (rather labour intensive!).