Analysis of illicit heroin. I. An effective thin-layer chromatographic system for separating eight opiates and five...

A thin-layer chromatographic (TLC) system with chloroform-n-hexane-triethylamine (9:9:4) as eluent that is capable of separating eight opiates and five potential adulterants, has been developed for the analysis of illicit heroin. The system was tested using illicit heroin samples and the results were confirmed by gas chromatography. The limit of detection is 0.1 microgram. Thirty-five TLC systems reported in the literature for opiate analysis were classified according to their resolving power.