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Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Untargeted Metabolomics from Biological Sources Using Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-HRMS)
Published on: May 20, 2013
HRMS directly from TLC slides. A powerful tool for rapid analysis of organic mixtures
Natalie J Smith1, Marek A Domin, Lawrence T Scott
1Department of Chemistry, Merkert Chemistry Center, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467-3860, USA.
Abstract:
High-resolution mass spectra (HRMS) of individual spots on thin-layer chromatography (TLC) slides can now be obtained quickly and easily at atmospheric pressure, with zero sample preparation, using commercially available instrumentation. The method is complementary to GC-mass spectrometry but is not limited to compounds of high volatility and high thermal stability. TLC-HRMS can be used to monitor chemical reactions in real time and has the capacity thereby to accelerate significantly the pace of synthetic organic chemistry.
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