When performing your experiment, you do not want your values to be 0 or 1 because your components that you are separating have different polarities. \(R_f\) valu es range from 0 to 1 with 0 indicating that the solvent polarity is very low and 1 indicating that the solvent polarity is very high. Varying the ratio can have a pronounced effect of \(R_f\). A common starting solvent is 1:1 hexane:ethyl acetate. As with plate selection, keep in mind the chemical properties of the analytes. Proper solvent selection is perhaps the most important aspect of TLC, and determining the best solvent may require a degree of trial and error. Nucleic acids, nucleotides, nucelosides, purines, pyrimidinesĬhromatographic Columns is a good reference to learn more about the different types of columns and stationary phases. Steroids, amino acids, alcohols, hydrocarbons, lipids, aflaxtoxin, bile, acids, vitamins, alkaloidsįatty acids, vitamins, steroids, hormones, carotenoidsĬarbohydrates, sugars, alcohols, amino acids, carboxylic acids, fatty acidsĪmines, alcohols, steroids, lipids, aflatoxins, bile acids, vitamins, alkaloids \): Stationary phase and mode of separation Stationary Phase