Subject thin-layer chromatography

Thin-Layer Chromatography TLC) The function of TLC in organic synthesis is primarily one of allowing the experimenter to follow the progress of the reaction without actually interrupting the reaction. Since successful TLC can be carried out on a minute scale, only a very small fraction of the reaction mixture need be withdrawn and subjected to analysis. The following example of the TLC analysis of the chromic acid oxidation of borneol, described by Davis (3), is a useful model. 

A mixture of 4.98 g of acetoacetic acid N-benzyl-N-methylaminoethyl ester, 2.3 g of aminocrotonic acid methyl ester, and 3 g of m-nitrobenzaldehyde was stirred for 6 hours at 100°C in an oil bath. The reaction mixture was subjected to a silica gel column chromatography (diameter 4 cm and height 25 cm) and then eluted with a 20 1 mixture of chloroform and acetone. The effluent containing the subject product was concentrated and checked by thin layer chromatography. The powdery product thus obtained was dissolved in acetone and after adjusting the solution with an ethanol solution saturated with hydrogen chloride to pH 1 -2, the solution was concentrated to provide 2 g of 2,6-dimethyl-4-(3 -nitrophenyl)-1,4-dihydropyridlne-3,5-dicarboxylic acid 3-methylester-5- -(N-benzyl-N-methylamino)ethyl ester hydrochloride. The product thus obtained was then crystallized from an acetone mixture, melting point 136°Cto 140°C (decomposed). 

Recent developments in the practice of thin-layer chromatography have resulted in a breakthrough in performance which has led to the expression high performance thin-layer chromatography . These developments have not been the result of any specific advance in instrumentation (as with HPLC), but rather the culmination of improvements in the various operations involved in TLC. The three chief features of HPTLC are summarised below, but for a comprehensive account of the subject the reader is recommended to consult a more specialised text.59... 

The reason for this lies not least in the increasing instrumentalization and delibei automation of all those processes which were earlier particularly subject to eri (Fig. 2). Modem high performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) is no Ion inferior to other liquid chromatographic techniques with respect to precision and s sitivity (Fig. 3) [6]. 

Lipid Screening. The problems of lipid analysis in the newborn is difficult because of the fact that most methods for analysis for lipids require substantial amounts of serum, yet a total lipid determination is very important in various types of disease. This problem can be solved by thin-layer chromatography (59). Figure 38 shows a typical pattern obtained when an extract 7rom 10 microliters of serum is subjected to thin-layer chromatography. If these specimens are scanned, and an internal standard is run, one can obtain a rough approximation of the distribution of the various lipids in the serum. This is shown in Figure 39, in which a normal specimen is run in an adult. 

Clark et al. [53] subjected primaquine to metabolic studies using microorganisms. A total of 77 microorganisms were evaluated for their ability to metabolize primaquine, of these, 23 were found to convert primaquine to one or more metabolites (thin-layer chromatography analysis). Preparative scale fermentation of primaquine with four different microorganisms resulted in the isolation of two metabolites, identified as 8-(3-carboxy-l-methylpropylamino)-6-methoxyquinoline and 8-(4-acetamido-l-methylbutylamino)-6-methoxyquinoline. The structures of the metabolites were proposed, based primarily on a comparison of the 13C NMR spectra of the acetamido metabolite and the methyl ester of the carboxy metabolite with that of primaquine. The structures of both metabolites were confirmed by direct comparison with authentic samples. 

The pure solid can be dried and weighed. A percentage yield can be calculated from its mass. The pure solid will often be subjected to analysis by melting point and thin-layer chromatography (see pp. 94-95). 

Thin Layer Chromatography is a valuable analytical technique. It is cheap, fast and simple. Optimization of TLC is therefore of the highest importance and subject of many studies. A review of optimization methods is given by Nurok [1]. The aim of such optimizations is to find a mobile phase composition at which a good separation of all solutes is possible. However, not only the mobile phase has influence on the retention time, but also the temperature and the relative humidity. 

Lipids can be identified and quantified using thin-layer chromatography (TEC) and gas chromatography (GC) (Galliard, 1968). Extraction of lipids is achieved by homogenizing potato tubers with isopropanol in a blender, followed by a series of filtrations and extractions with chloroform-methanol (2 1). Chloroform is removed by rotary evaporation and the residue is redissolved in benzene-ethanol (4 1). This extract is passed through a DEAE-cellulose column, and the fractions collected are subjected to TEC on 250 p,m layers of silica gel G, using three solvent systems. Fatty acid methyl esters for GC analysis are prepared by transmethylation of the parent lipids, or by diazomethane treatment of the free fatty acids released by acid... 

V-(9-Fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl)-0-(2,3,4-tri-0-benzoyl- 3-D-xylopyranosyl)-L-serine 15. The Fmoc O-xylosyl serine benzyl ester 13 (1.0 g, 1.2 mmol) is stirred in methanol (40 mL) at room temperature and subjected to hydrogenolysis for 18 h under atmospheric pressure using palladium-charcoal (0.2 g, 5%) as the catalyst. The educt 13 dissolves slowly. The catalyst is filtered off, and the solvent evaporated in vacuo. If the residue is not pure according to thin-layer chromatography (TLC), it is dissolved in 2 mL of ethyl acetate and purified by chromatography on a short column of silia gel 60. The byproducts are eluted with petroleum ether-ethyl acetate the product 15 with methanol yield 0.85 (92%) mp 109°C, [cr]D -12.6° (c 0.3, CH3OH) Rf 0.64 (toluene-ethanol, 1 2). 

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