ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the thin layer chromatography (TLC) techniques and instrumentation with different levels of automation that can be used in a contemporary analytical laboratory to produce high-quality analytical results without sacrificing the great flexibility of the method. TLC is a type of liquid chromatography in which the stationary phase is in the form of a layer on a glass, an aluminum, or a plastic support. The use of commercial thin layer chromatography-mass spectrometry interfaces revolutionized the identification process of biologically active compounds after separation on the TLC layer. Modern TLC may be applied to study complex physico-chemical phenomena, such as, for example, spontaneous oscillatory chiral conversion and the condensation of some amino acids. The results of TLC are strongly dependent upon the environmental conditions during development, such as small changes in mobile phase composition, temperature, humidity, and the size and type of the chamber and its solvent vapor saturation conditions.
