Environmentally preferable solvents promoted resolution of multi-component mixtures of amino acids: an approach to perform green chromatography

Background Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and found in structural tissues of the human body. Their deficiency may cause a number of diseases. Methods Amino acids were analysed by the proposed thin layer chromatographic system using silica gel as stationary phase and Ethanol/70% aq. ethylene glycol/acetone (5:3:1) as mobile phase. Results Separations of some closely related amino acids from their quaternary, ternary and binary mixtures were achieved. The limits of detection of the separated amino acids have been calculated. The effects of presence of metal cations and anions on the separation have been examined. The developed method has been successfully applied for identifying the amino acids (lysine and methionine) in pharmaceutical formulations. Conclusion Thin layer chromatographic technique using silica as stationary phase in combination with mixtures of environmentally preferable solvents as mobile phase has been used for the analysis of amino acids of pharmaceutical importance.