The enantiomeric purity of twelve commercial 14C‐ and 3H‐labeled L‐α‐amino acids was determined using reverse isotope dilution analysis. The technique utilized reversed‐phase (RP) thin‐layer chromatography (TLC) and beta‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD) in the mobile phase to separate D‐ and L‐amino acids as their 5‐dimethylamino‐1‐naphtalene sulfonyl (dansyl, DNS) derivatives. In all cases, the L‐amino acid was contaminated with the D‐isomer. This is the first report of the resolution of N‐DNS‐Dl‐tyrosine and N‐(α)‐DNS‐Dl‐lysine using this methodology. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.