Application of Thin-Layer Chromatography to High-Performance Liquid Chromatographic Separation of Steroidal Hormones and Cephalosporin Antibiotics

Abstract

Abstract High-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) separation of steroidal hormones and cephalosporin antibiotics was investigated by adsorption chromatography and reversed-phase chromatography, respectively. Prior to the HPLC separation of these pharmaceuticals, silica gel thin-layer adsorption chromatography of steroidal hormones and reversed-phase thin-layer partition chromatography of cephalosporin antibiotics with chemically bonded dimethylsilyl silica gel were performed in order to obtain suitable HPLC separation systems. In the separation of steroidal hormones, the same binary mobile phase ratios of TLC did not give satisfactory results in HPLC. For the sharp separation in HPLC, solvent strength in the binary solvent mixture used for TLC had to be decreased. The difference in solvent strength for efficient separation between TLC and HPLC might be attributed to the fact that in HPLC the solvent elution power acts in an isocratic manner while in TLC it acts in a gradient manner. On the other hand, a correlation of mobility between TLC and HPLC separation for cephalosporin antibiotics was obtained, and the possibility of direct transfer of chromatographic systems from TLC to HPLC for separation of these antibiotics was confirmed.