| Abstract: | Identification problems often encountered in high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)/Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) can be circumvented through the use of a thin-layer chromatographic (TLC) plate as deposition and infra-red sampling medium. The combination of complementary separation modes is shown to demonstrate increased resolution of the components of complex mixtures. In this particular work, the effluent from a reversed-phase microcolumn is continuously deposited on a TLC plate with alumina stationary phase. The solute remains on the plate as a continuous record of the HPLC separation, which is then analyzed by diffuse reflectance FTIR. When the HPLC separation is inadequate for full separation of the components, the immobilized HPLC chromatogram serves as a starting point for subsequent TLC separation. A number of FTIR reconstructed chromatograms and spectra which are derived from the TLC plate aid in the interpretation. |
