Bumping this old thread because no-one will spoonfeed me and there’s a lot of conflicting info on the subject
So I’m looking at getting some stuff to do TLC and I have a few questions:
Is it necessary to decarb all samples?
What extraction solvents are best? I’ve seen methanol, ether, hexane, etc
What type/grade of silica/alumina plates are best?
Is fast blue B/BB the best developer? Is it necessary to use NaOH for BB prep? Spray/dip? What concentration? I’ve seen .5% and 1%, and a few other random ones that aren’t precise
I saw someone using bromocresol green to test for decarboxylation with chromatography paper on here, is that just to determine when the product is no longer an acid?
Is 80:20 hexane:diethyl ether still a good mobile eluant? Chloroform? I’m looking for opinions on this one
Is there a guide to retention factor changes by solvent/plate type?
The basic process from what I can see is:
Mix 100mg sample with 1mL methanol or hexane, allow time to extract.
Use capillary tube/micro-pipette to deposit 2-4uL sample on plate
Place in chamber with mobile eluant below the sample dots(chloroform?), allow capillary action to reach the top line of the place(opposite of the dotted samples/stationary phase which are at the bottom)
Allow plate to dry
Spray/bathe with developer(Fast blue B/BB? concentration? - bathing it is best practice, correct?)
Measure/photograph results
Newer methods all seem to be locked behind paywalls, but I see various mobile phases being used in almost everything.
Is my best bet just gonna be buying the kit linked above or a similar one, and adding materials as needed? I don’t have a great understanding of all this, and I’m hitting the wall in terms of what I can do by myself.
random resources I’ve used:
DIY Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) of cannabinoids at home - tutorial | Rollitup (by far the best)
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=7063635&postcount=18
How to make a cannabinoid analysis- Alchimia Grow Shop
Home TLC Thin layer chromatography | Page 4 | International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums (lots of dead links but some solid info)
High Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) data of Cannabinoids in ten mobile phase systems - ScienceDirect
https://www.greencultured.co/cannabis-analysis-and-marijuana-testing/
Cannabis, THC, CBD, CBN, CBG Testing kits Instructional Video www thctestkits com - YouTube
In House analytics - #96 by cyclopath
High Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) data of Cannabinoids in ten mobile phase systems - ScienceDirect
paywalled info I couldn’t fully access that looked useful:
Sherma, J., & Rabel, F. (2019). Thin layer chromatography in the analysis of cannabis and its components and synthetic cannabinoids. Journal of Liquid Chromatography & Related Technologies, 1–16. doi:10.1080/10826076.2019.1663529