IODINE-AZIDE REAGENT FOR THE DETECTION OF BIOLOGICALLY ORIENTED THIOPHOSPHORYL COMPOUNDS IN THIN-LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY SYSTEMS

The correlation between induction factors (F-1) of phosphorothioates i n the iodine-azide reaction and their detection limits (DLs) using the iodine-azide reagent has been established. The iodine-azide reagent h as been used for the selective thin-layer chromatographic detection of several sugar phosphorothioates and related compounds. In several cas es, hydrolytic treatment of phosphorothioates, prior to their detectio n on thin-layer chromatography (TLC) plates with the iodine-azide reag ent, was accompanied by a dramatic increase in the detectability of th e starting compounds. Comparison of TLC detection systems for phosphor othioates using iodine-azide procedures and other representative proce dures are presented. The application of the iodine-azide procedure com bined with the molybdate procedure for selective TLC detection of phos phates and phosphorothioates is illustrated. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.