Open Access

We present a video-densitometric quantification method for Sudan red dyes in spices and spice mixtures, separated by TLC. Application was done band-wise in small dots using a 5 μL glass pipette. For separation, the RP-18 plates (20 × 20 cm with fluorescent dye; Merck, Germany, 1.05559) were developed in a vertical developing chamber without vapor saturation from the starting point to a distance of 70 mm by using acetonitrile, methanol, and aqueous ammonia solution (25%; 8 + 1.8 + 0.2, v/v) as mobile phase. The quantification is based on direct measurements using an inexpensive 16-bit flatbed scanner for color measurements (in red, green, and blue). Evaluation of only the green channel makes the measurements very specific. For linearization, an extended Kubelka-Munk expression for data transformation was used. The range of linearity covers more than two magnitudes and lies between 20 and 500 ng. The extraction from a 2 g sample with acetonitrile, evaporation, and reconstitution to 200 μL with methanol and the band-wise application (7 mm) of a 10 μL sample allows a statistically defined LOD of less than 500 ppb of Sudan red dyes. To perform the analysis, a separation chamber, RP-18 plates, 5 μL glass pipettes, and a 16-bit flatbed scanner for 105 € are needed; therefore, the separation method is inexpensive, fast, and reliable.

Die Weltwirtschaftskrise 2008 hat mit ihrer zeitweisen Verknappung von Acetonitril eindringlich gezeigt, dass man nicht nur auf eine einzige chromatographische Methode setzten sollte. Genau dies wird aber im Augenblick getan, denn Industrie und Forschung setzen mehrheitlich auf die High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) als die Trennmethode ihrer Wahl. Für viele Anwendungen in der Pharmazie, in der Umweltanalytik, der Lebensmittelanalytik, aber auch in der Inprozesskontrolle gibt es mit der Dünnschichtchromatografie eine Alternative.

Astaxanthin is a keto-carotenoid, belongs to the chemical class of terpenes and is a yellow lipid soluble compound. The compound is present in marine animals like salmons and crustacean. Its colour is due to conjugated double bonds and these double bonds are responsible for its antioxidant effect. Its antioxidant activity is ten times stronger than other carotenoids and nearly 500 fold stronger than vitamin-E. We present a new thin layer chromatography (TLC) method to measure astaxanthin on TLC-plates (Merck, 1.05554) in the visible absorption range as well as by using chemiluminescence. For separation a solvent mixture of cyclohexane and acetone (10 + 2.4, v/v) was used. The RF-value of astaxanthin is 0.14.The limit of detection in vis-absorption is 64 ng / band and the limit of quantification is 92 ng/band. In chemiluminescence the values are 90 ng / band and 115 ng/band. The method offers two independently working measurement modes on a single plate which increase the accuracy of the quantification.

A simple method to quantify the neonicotinoid insecticides nitenpyram, thiamethoxam, acetamiprid, imidacloprid, thiacloprid and clothianidin directly on an HPTLC-plate is presented. As stationary phase silica gel 60 RP-18WF254 s plates were used and a mixture of methyl-t-butyl ether, 2-butanone, NH3 (25%) (5 + 2+0.1, v/v) was used as solvent. All neonicotinoid insecticides show light absorptions below 300 nm. The calculated limits of quantification (LOQ) by UV-detection are in the range from 12 ng to 26 ng on plate depending on the different insecticides.Nitenpyram can be stained using fast blue salt B, forming red zones. The observed LOQ is 25 ng on plate. Acetamiprid can be specifically stained using phenylglyoxylic acid forming a yellow/green fluorescent compound. The LOQ is 52 ng per spot.The compounds thiamethoxam, acetamiprid, thiacloprid and clothianidin can be transformed into blue fluorescing zones, using a relatively new staining solution. This consists of tetraphenylborate and HCl. This is the first publication mentioning that neonicotinoids undergo this reaction. The calculated limits of quantification are in the range from 10 ng to 27 ng on plate.A simple pre-treatment procedure using an acetonitrile extraction and a Chromabond SiOH clean up procedure leads to overall LOQs for bee samples of 48 to 108 µg/Kg. The method can be used to measure neonicotinoid contaminations of bees.