Thin-layer chromatographic separation and colorimetric determination of rhamnose, quinovose, fucose and glucose

A thin-layer chromatographic method has been developed for the separation and subsequent determination of rhamnose, quinovose, fucose and glucose: 50 to 200 nmol of each of the four sugars can be adequately separated in a single ruled lane 20 mm wide on the plate; after elution the individual sugars are determined colorimetrically with the phenol-sulphuric acid reagent. The method requires the use of only simple apparatus and should have wide application. It has advantages over the gas-liquid and paper chromatographic methods and is less time consuming.