Print PDF
Favorite
Email
Step 6Air dry followed by activation
You want to air dry the slides to allow the plaster to set. Just leave the slides in a calm place for about an hour, or until they are white and smooth.
Prior to using, the tlc plates need to be activated. This entails driving off any remaining water that would still be held by the silica gel. This, apparently, frees-up the -OH groups of the silica gel to do your bidding as a stationary phase does.
Activation is done by heating the plates in an oven at 120C for 30-45 minutes. At this stage there really is no harmful chemical residues to worry about and this can be done in a regular household oven (unless the oven caretaker objects of course).
After they have cooled the plates are ready for use so that you may elute to your heart's content.
The advantage of using glass slides is that when you're done with the plate you can always scrape off the stationary phase, clean it, and re-layer it.
Prior to using, the tlc plates need to be activated. This entails driving off any remaining water that would still be held by the silica gel. This, apparently, frees-up the -OH groups of the silica gel to do your bidding as a stationary phase does.
Activation is done by heating the plates in an oven at 120C for 30-45 minutes. At this stage there really is no harmful chemical residues to worry about and this can be done in a regular household oven (unless the oven caretaker objects of course).
After they have cooled the plates are ready for use so that you may elute to your heart's content.
The advantage of using glass slides is that when you're done with the plate you can always scrape off the stationary phase, clean it, and re-layer it.
| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
 |
Add Comment
|
