Nucleic acid derivatives, analysis/separation

Native and microcrystalline cellulose precoated plates are used in the life sciences for the separation of polar compounds (e.g. carbohydrates, carboxylic acids, amino acids, nucleic acid derivatives, phosphates, etc) [85]. These layers are unsuitable for the separation of compounds of low water solubility unless first modified, for example, by acetylation. Several chemically bonded layers have been described for the separation of enantiomers (section 10.5.3). Polyamide and polymeric ion-exchange resins are available in a low performance grade only for the preparation of laboratory-made layers [82]. Polyamide layers are useful for the reversed-phase separation and qualitative analysis of phenols, amino acid derivatives, heterocyclic nitrogen compounds, and carboxylic and sulfonic acids. Ion-exchange layers prepared from poly(ethyleneimine), functionalized poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) and diethylaminoethyl cellulose resins and powders and are used primarily for the separation of inorganic ions and biopolymers. 

PC was being used already 25 years ago for fractionation and quantitative analysis of these substances in nucleic acid hydrolysates [45, 46, 99, 105]. Randerath was the first to report the thin-layer chromatographic separation of nucleic acid constituents on silica gel G [59] and cellulose [60]. He found TLC on cellulose layers to be superior to PC [59, 61]. TLC on finely powdered cellulose layers yields smaller and more sharply defined spots than PC on the fibrous paper under comparable conditions [60] moreover, thin-layer chromatographic separation of nucleic acid derivatives requires only a fraction of the time needed in PC [60, 61]. 

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