Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of a new and economical thin-layerchromatography manual multi-applicator

A new thin-layer chromatography manual multi-applicator has been developed for simultaneous deposition of up to 15 samples, successively on several pl ates of different sizes, Acepromethazine was used as test analyte, and plat es were scanned at lambda = 375 nm by means of a Desaga CD 60 densitometer, The performance of the new instrument was evaluated qualitatively by calcul ating the reproducibility among all capillary tubes and assessing its adapt ability to routinely used materials, Quantitative analyses were used to eva luate the linearity of calibration curves and the reproducibility of deposi tion. The extent of agreement with results from a Desaga AS 30 autosampler was also determined, The multi-applicator furnished reliable results, both qualitatively - good inter-capillary reproducibility (relative standard deviation (RSD) less tha n or equal to 4%) and adaptability - and quantitatively - satisfactory line arity (r = 0.996), reproducibility (RSD = 4%), correlation with the Desaga autosampler (r = 0.950), and no significant difference (p > 0.05) between c oncentrations measured by use of the two instruments. These results indicate that the multi-applicator is particularly suitable f or rapid deposition of a large number of samples. Compared with the automat ic sampler it is a good economical option for less affluent laboratories.