A Versatile and Compact Chromatographic Chamber A simple and inexpensive glass chamber is described which facilitates thin-layer chromatography (tlc) separations of a large number of samples within 5 min. Monitoring s. column chromatographic separation by tlc required the analysis of a large number of samples. Tlc microplates served the purpose; but the large number of plates, t.he irreproducible RJ's between plates, and the necessity for keeping the plates in order made t,he operation tedious. Large plates were uneconomical and required 45-min developments. To obviate these difficulties, a. cylindrical chamber was designed for short ascending developments of 2 X &in. plates up the 2-in. dimension. About 2&30 samples could be developed within 5 mi". Visualization of the plates gave a e u r n p x c ~recwri oi pl.ogl.css oi i t l o column separation (see figure). By erecting the cylinder the ehnml~ereortld also hc used lengthwise for plate developments. One end of a glass tube G.2 X 22 cm was sealed andflattened. A plate of glass 2 X 6 X 0.3 cm was fused onto tho open end. A slot (0.6 cm wide) was molded across the center of the flat plate. The flat d a t e contains the solvent and mevents the tank from rolline. The slot serves to support the chromatographic plate. In operation, the open end k sealed with aluminum foil or with a piece of polyethylene film held in place with a. rubber band.
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848
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Journal of Chemical Education
