I was looking to buy TLC plates- but all the ones I found were surprisingly expensive, many going well into the 100-200 dollar range for one pack. Why
are they so expensive? (This really surprised me, considering in orgo lab, the department has no problem whatsoever with us incompetent undergrads
burning through them. They are poor quality, plastic-backed plates, but still!)
Anyone know where I can get them relatively cheaply? (My college apparently does.)draculic acid69 - 19-10-2019 at 05:16
Ask your college.karlos³ - 19-10-2019 at 08:46
You can also make them yourself.
Also, your college probably buys them in large amounts and thus gets a discount price.
However, they still should not cost more than around 60-70€ per pack.DavidJR - 19-10-2019 at 11:08
It is significantly cheaper to buy large plates and cut them up into smaller sizes as required. That said, I can't be bothered doing that. All of my
TLC plates have been good deals I've found on eBay occasionally.Carbon8 - 19-10-2019 at 13:37
The late Robert Bruce Thompson has a nice video on making your own TLC plates:
The Home Scientist 024 - Making thin-layer chromatography (TLC) plates
He activates CaSO4 by heating it before adding it to water and pottery grade alumina (~300 mesh). The layer is applied as thickly as possible and
activated by heating to 200F.
This is cheap but everything is going wrong there when compared to proper alumina plate manufacture and presumably resolution.
[Edited on 20-10-2019 by S.C. Wack]Heptylene - 20-10-2019 at 12:28
I've seen them on ebay in large sizes (200x200 mm). At uni we cut those large sizes into smaller ones using a box cutter and a ruler on a wooden
board. (I typically cut mine 50x40 mm sizes for a first separation). A box of 10 big plates can be turned into 200 smaller ones. Considering how
useful they are, and how uniform they have to be (so difficult to make yourself), I think they are worth investing in if you do some serious organic
synthesis.G-Coupled - 20-10-2019 at 12:47
TLC plates do seem like one of those technologies that benefit massively from the precision and uniformity that mass production can achieve, and they
don't appear to cost *that* much considering how many you can cut from a batch. Dr.Bob - 20-10-2019 at 16:44
I have some TLC plates in 200 x 200 mm format. They are a little old, so I would sell cheap, and can sell a few, rather than having to buy a package
of 25 for $80 or more.
They are not real easy to cut apart, but I have done it. Some of them will not break cleanly, but with practice I can get about 80% out intact. So
you can cut the 200 x 200 mm ones into about 8-30 smaller ones, and get most of those to work. It does take a glass cutter, if you already have one
around, that is ideal, otherwise you can buy one, but in that case, it might be worth just buying a few plates to learn with first. Or use the
plastic or aluminum backed ones, they are cheaper and can be cut with a knife, box cutter, or scissors. I have had a few sheets of those, not sure
what is left, but if you just want a few I can likely find something.Texium - 21-10-2019 at 07:45
Dr. Bob, are your plates UV doped? If so, I'd probably buy some from you.Dr.Bob - 21-10-2019 at 18:03
I have some F254 plates, along with lots of other various ones. I'm happy to provide almost any TLC plates, as long as you want large sheets, most
are 200 x 200, in 250 and 1000 (prep) thickness, and even some reverse phase ones. Just send me a note.
