Planar chromatography - Current practice and future prospects

Planar chromatography, in the form of thin-layer or high-performance thin-layer chromatography (TLC, HPTLC), continues to provide a robust and widely used separation technique. It is unrivaled as a simple and rapid qualitative method for mixture analysis, or for finding bioactive components in mixtures. The format of TLC/ HPTLC also provides a unique method for preserving the separation, enabling further investigation of compo-nents of interest (including quantification/structure determination) separated in both time and space from the original analysis. The current practice of planar chromatography and areas of development of the technology are reviewed and promising future directions in the use of TLC/HPTLC are outlined.

Automated summary

Planar chromatography, in the form of thin-layer or high-performance thin-layer chromatography (TLC, HPTLC), remains a powerful and widely used separation technique. It is unparalleled as a simple and rapid qualitative method for mixture analysis, or for identifying bioactive components in mixtures. TLC/HPTLC also allows for the preservation of the separation, enabling further research on components of interest separated in both time and space from the original analysis. The current practice and future developments of planar chromatography are reviewed.