Once fractions are taken, it is necessary to analyse them to confirm the sample and test for purity.

In this section we have concentrated on TLC but other techniques such as HPLC may also be used. A comparison between TLC and HPLC is given in the table below:

 

	TLC	HPLC
Advantages:	Multiple samples on one plate Good correlation with flash Low cost	High resolution Results easy to analyse
Disadvantages:	Low resolution	Samples must be run separately Relatively expensive No correlation to flash separation

 

Both techniques have their place with flash chromatography but overall TLC remains the most useful of the two.