Partition of sugars by thin-layer chromatography at low temperatures

Several monosaccharides give two components when analysed by thin-layer chromatography on cellulose at -18°C. For D-fructose, the two spots corresponded to the furanoid and pyranoid forms. For d-mannose, the two spots could be correlated with the α and β anomers of the pyranoid form, and for d-galactose, the minor component is probably the hexofuranose. Other sugars, including d-glucose, gave a single spot under these conditions. It is suggested that chromatography at low temperatures is of potential vlaue as a useful analytical tool for the identification of minute amounts of certain reducing sugars.