Thin-layer chromatography solvent selection

Dissolution of the sample is the method required in a number of spectroscopic and chromatographic techniques (e.g., UV-Vis spectrophotometry, atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and thin-layer chromatography (TLC)). Selection of the suitable solvent is essential... 

Ahmad, A. Muzaffar, Q.S. Andrabi, A. Qureshi, P.M. Solvent polarity as a function of Rf in thin-layer chromatography of selected nitro functions. J. Chromatogr. Sci. 1996, 34 (8), 376. 

The selection of the solvent is based on the retention mechanism. The retention of analytes on stationary phase material is based on the physicochemical interactions. The molecular interactions in thin-layer chromatography have been extensively discussed, and are related to the solubility of solutes in the solvent. The solubility is explained as the sum of the London dispersion (van der Waals force for non-polar molecules), repulsion, Coulombic forces (compounds form a complex by ion-ion interaction, e.g. ionic crystals dissolve in solvents with a strong conductivity), dipole-dipole interactions, inductive effects, charge-transfer interactions, covalent bonding, hydrogen bonding, and ion-dipole interactions. The steric effect should be included in the above interactions in liquid chromatographic separation. 

By appropriate choice of the type (or combination) of the organic solvent(s), selective polar dipole-dipole, proton-donor, or proton-acceptor interactions can be either enhanced or suppressed and the selectivity of separation adjusted [42]. Over a limited concentration range of methanol-water and acetonitrile-water mobile phases useful for gradient elution, semiempirical retention equation (Equation 5.7), originally introduced in thin-layer chromatography by Soczewinski and Wachtmeister [43], is used most frequently as the basis for calculations of gradient-elution data [4-11,29,30] ... 

Of the various media used in thin-layer chromatography, many are adaptable to the deoxy sugars and their derivatives. Some selected media, solvent systems, and types of derivatives are listed in Table II. 

The following table provides a comprehensive guide to the selection of thin-layer chromatography media and solvents for a given chemical family. Mixed mobile phases are denoted with a slash, /, between components and where available the proportions are given. Among the references are several excellent texts,13 60 review articles,4 24 and original research papers and reports.25 59 6198 A table of abbreviations follows this section. 

In some cases we may speed up the selection of appropriate primary parameters with the help of programmed analysis, i.e. temperature programming in GC or solvent programming in LC. Another useful scouting technique may be thin layer chromatography (TLC). Possibilities for establishing the appropriate values of the primary parameters will be discussed in section S.4. 

The methods employed for isolation of the alkaloids depend on the nature of the compounds, and specific conditions have frequently been devised for the selective isolation of particular types of compounds. Usually, fresh or dried plant material is extracted with dilute acid solution or with alcohol, and the extract obtained is further fractionated by extraction into organic solvents with variation of pH. Extraction columns (288), membrane processes (425), and ion-exchange materials (288-290) may be particularly useful for subfractionation or isolation procedures. For further identification and isolation of separate compounds, preparative thin-layer chromatography, (288, 291, 292, 426), liquid chromatography (293, 294), or gas chromatography may be used (202, 296, 297). Because some of the products reviewed in this chapter occur naturally in very small amounts, they have not been isolated in crystalline form. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (87, 213, 299), mass fragmentography (192), and mass spectrometry-mass spectrometry (301, 359) have proved to be particularly useful techniques for identification of trace alkaloids in complex mixtures. 

The separation and identification of natural dyes from wool fibers using reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromotog-raphy (HPLC) were performed on a C-18 column. Two isocratic four-solvent systems were developed on the basis of the Snyder solvent-selectivity triangle concept (1) 10% acetonitrile, 4% alcohol, and 2% tetrahydrofuran in 0.01 M acetic acid and (2)7% acetonitrile, 8% alcohol, and 5% tetrahydrofuran in 0.01 M acetic acid. Samples were also eluted in 30% acetonitrile. Spot tests and thin-layer chromatography were performed on all samples to confirm HPLC results. The systems also were found to be potentially useful in the identification of early synthetic dyes. A system of sample preparation that minimizes the reaction of samples was discussed. The application of this HPLC separation technique to samples from 20th century Caucasian rugs and American samples unearthed from the foundation of Mission San Jose was examined. 

As a rule, chemical methods used in the examination of writing materials require initial preparation of a sample for study. Paper chromatography, thin-layer chromatography and capillary electrophoresis are experimental techniques often applied. These methods lead primarily to separation of the dyes contained in the ink under examination and to the discrimination of ink samples. The techniques are simple to use, require a small amount of sample for examination, are selective and give reproducible results. Their basic disadvantage, however, is the necessity to isolate the ink from the substrate (e.g. paper) on which the examined document has been prepared. Solvent extraction of the ink often leads to partial damage of the document. 

In practice, the selection of the solvent of the right strength can be made either by tedious trial and error method or by using the rapid open bed separation (thin layer chromatography). For strongly adsorbed compounds, it is usually best to use a polar solvent such as an alcohol, pyridine, or an ester, whereas with weakly adsorbed solutes the solvent is normally petroleum ether, carbon tetrachloride or cyclohexane. Mixtures of two or three solvents of different polarity often give better separation than unmixed solvents. 

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