Pre-staining thin layer chromatography method for amino acid detection

Abstract

Thin layer chromatography (TLC) is an analytical method that is used commonly. It usually includes five steps: spotting, separating, drying, spraying/immersing and color development. In this paper, TLC was
modified with pre-staining method, which only consisted of 3 steps: spotting, separating and color development. The modified thin layer chromatography can be used for the analysis of amino acids. When compared to the classical thin layer chromatography, the improved method was more rapid and inexpensive and the results obtained were clean and reproducible. However, it is suitable for the high throughput screening of amino acid-producing strains.

Keywords: Thin layer chromatography, pre-staining, amino acid detection