Ligand Exchange Reactions for the Fluorescent Detection of Nanogram Amounts of Metal Ions on TLC Plates

Abstract
A number of metal ions have been separated as their diethyldithiocarbamate chelates by thin-layer chromatography and detected by means of a ligand exchange reaction between a metal/calcein complex and the diethyldithiocarbamate chelate. Visual detection limits, after development, are 0.1 to 2 ng per spot for the metal ions studied. The potential of this new method for the fluorescent analysis of metal ions is discussed. It is particularly promising as a simple field method. Spiked natural water samples are analyzed to demonstrate its usefulness.