Scholarly record

THIN-LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY: THE ORIGINS AND PRINCIPLES OF THIS EFECTIVE ANALYTICAL TOOL

Magdalena Ślączka-Wilk

Abstract

Thin-layer chromatography is a useful and environmentally friendly analytical tool still with potential for the future. As a planar chromatographic technique has a wide spectrum of applications and it can be complimentary to other chromatographic techniques like, for instance, high performance liquid chromatography. Separation on thin-layer was performed for the very first time by Izmailov and Shraiber in 1937-1938. They called the new technique spot or drop chromatography and used it for separation of selected plant extracts. The Izmailov?s and Schraiber?s spot chromatography was being successfully developed over the years and applied for separation, identification of various components of interest by different scientists and their research groups. In the late 1950s one of the scientists, Stahl initiated the term of thin-layer chromatography. Thanks to his work thin-layer chromatography came to be a commonly recognized analytical technique. Stahl improved and standardised materials, procedures and equipment for thin-layer chromatography, adsorbents based on silica gel with addition of calcium sulphate as a binder (silica gel plates for thin-layer chromatography according to Stahl) began to be commonly applied and manufactured by Merck. This article brings up the origins and principles of thin-layer chromatography and also shows how an older technique can develop over the years and become one of the widely applied analytical tools.

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