Separation of long-chain bases by thin-layer chromatography; instability of sphingosine

Purified sphingosine was resolved into dihydrosphingosine, sphingosine, and a fast-moving component thin-layer chromatography on Silica Gel G. The fast-moving component was generated by the adsorbent, and consisted of a mixture of the cationic forms of dihydrosphingosine and sphingosine. Other sphingosine derivatives gave rise to similar artifacts.Sphingosine formed two degradation products when stored in solution or on thin-layer plates; related long-chain bases with some of their reactive sites blocked did not deteriorate when stored in solution.