Thin-layer chromatography

Thin-layer chromatography
Separation of black ink on a TLC plate
AcronymTLC
ClassificationChromatography
Other techniques
Related

Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) is a chromatography technique that separates components in non-volatile mixtures.[1]

It is performed on a TLC plate made up of a non-reactive solid coated with a thin layer of adsorbent material.[2] This is called the stationary phase.[2] The sample is deposited on the plate, which is eluted with a solvent or solvent mixture known as the mobile phase (or eluent).[3] This solvent then moves up the plate via capillary action.[4] As with all chromatography, some compounds are more attracted to the mobile phase, while others are more attracted to the stationary phase.[5] Therefore, different compounds move up the TLC plate at different speeds and become separated.[6] To visualize colourless compounds, the plate is viewed under UV light or is stained.[7] Testing different stationary and mobile phases is often necessary to obtain well-defined and separated spots.[citation needed]

TLC is quick, simple, and gives high sensitivity for a relatively low cost.[5] It can monitor reaction progress, identify compounds in a mixture, determine purity, or purify small amounts of compound.[5]

  1. ^ Harry W. Lewis & Christopher J. Moody (13 Jun 1989). Experimental Organic Chemistry: Principles and Practice (Illustrated ed.). WileyBlackwell. pp. 159–173. ISBN 9780632020171.
  2. ^ a b Zhang, Meizhen; Yu, Qian; Guo, Jiaqi; Wu, Bo; Kong, Xianming (2022-11-28). "Review of Thin-Layer Chromatography Tandem with Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for Detection of Analytes in Mixture Samples". Biosensors. 12 (11): 937. doi:10.3390/bios12110937. ISSN 2079-6374. PMC 9687685. PMID 36354446.
  3. ^ Silver, Jack (2020-12-08). "Let Us Teach Proper Thin Layer Chromatography Technique!". Journal of Chemical Education. 97 (12): 4217–4219. Bibcode:2020JChEd..97.4217S. doi:10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00437. ISSN 0021-9584. S2CID 226349471.
  4. ^ Stahl, Egon (1969), Stahl, Egon (ed.), "Apparatus and General Techniquesss in TLC", Thin-Layer Chromatography: A Laboratory Handbook, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 52–86, doi:10.1007/978-3-642-88488-7_3, ISBN 978-3-642-88488-7, retrieved 2023-03-29
  5. ^ a b c Santiago, Marina; Strobel, Scott (2013-01-01), "Chapter Twenty-Four - Thin Layer Chromatography", in Lorsch, Jon (ed.), Cell, Lipid and Carbohydrate, Methods in Enzymology, vol. 533, Academic Press, pp. 303–324, doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-420067-8.00024-6, ISBN 978-0-12-420067-8, PMID 24182936, retrieved 2023-03-29
  6. ^ A.I. Vogel; A.R. Tatchell; B.S. Furnis; A.J. Hannaford & P.W.G. Smith (1989). Vogel's Textbook of Practical Organic Chemistry (5th ed.). Longman Scientific & Technical. ISBN 978-0-582-46236-6.
  7. ^ Jork, H., Funk, W., Fischer, W., Wimmer, H. (1990): Thin-Layer Chromatography: Reagents and Detection Methods, Volume 1a, VCH, Weinheim, ISBN 3-527-278834