Search

DURING the past few years, a large number of papers have appeared dealing with the quantitative determination of amino-acids in paper chromatograms in situ or after elution; but no simple satisfactory general method has yet been developed. Chemical reactions of the amino-acids on paper cannot easily be controlled, and results obtained from such reactions must be considered semi-quantitative. Elution of amino-acids after location of the spots in ultra-violet light seems to be the most promising method for quantitative estimation hitherto described. This method is based on the interaction between cellulose and amino-acids, which produces fluorescent substances1. The amino-acids take part only in the formation of intermediate compounds, from which they can be recovered quantitatively or almost quantitatively. The reactions are complicated and not fully understood2.