[Enantiomer]

Hi guys,

Until recently my lab has been using tlc plates with plastic backing instead of glass, however all of the places we used to order it from say the product is discontinued?

Just wondering if someone had an explanation for this?  Is there a place you can still get the plastic ones? Are there any pros to the glass type (I know they are more likely to give an even solvent spread)?

Thanks

[Adamcp898]

Not sure about supply but why not go for the aluminium backed alternative? Will still be easy to cut to size and easy to handle

[Enantiomer]

aluminum backed ones are not usable, due to the fact that they tend to have different Rf values.  This wouldn't be a huge problem in general but it would be problematic for publishing.

[Babcock_Hall]

The glass-backed plates can be heated after dipping into a stain.  I wouldn't think the plastic ones could be.

[Dan]

R_fs may change if you switch supplier anyway, so I'd probably move to the aluminium-backed plates. You can specify which plates you used when you report the data in the paper if you notice a large difference. The difference will probably depend more on the silica mesh size and layer thickness - I would be surprised if the backing material has any effect at all (I can't think of a good explanation myself).

But anyway, Sigma (for example) have a section on their website for plastic-backed plates:

http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/analytical-chromatography/analytical-products.html?TablePage=9656640

A couple of them are in stock (UK stock), but mostly discontinued.