BCM 112 BIOCHEMISTRY I “Thin-Layer chromatography (TLC)”

Application and importance of Thin-Layer Chromatography In
Clinical Chemistry :
1. Lipid analysis, separation of different lipid classes from animal and
plant tissues;
a- simple lipids i.e. cholesterol esters, triglycerides, free fatty
acids, cholesterol and diacylglycerols.
b- Complex lipids such as phospholipids e.g. lecithin and
sphingomyelin (a semiquantitative ratio of these compounds in
amniotic fluid is widely used as an indicator of foetal lung maturity).
2. Analytical TLC is used in drug analysis, in cases of acute poisoning
3. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) is very useful to chemists as an
analytical technique to separate and identify the compounds in a
mixture.
4. Detection of abnormal components in inborn errors of metabolism in
the neonatal population e.g. inborn errors of carbohydrate metabolism.
TLC has been used to detect the presence of abnormal sugars in
blood, urine or faeces.
5. Amino-aciduria can be investigated in urine to detect amino acids by
using two dimensional TLC system.
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