Instrument platforms for thin-layer chromatography

•Overview of instrumentation for high-performance thin-layer chromatography.•Semi- and full-automation of the separation process.•Techniques for in situ identification and quantification.•Current state-of-the-art in instrumental thin-layer chromatography.

High performance column and thin-layer chromatography are both instrumental techniques but differ in that column chromatography requires a fully integrated instrument platform with high pressure capability while for thin-layer chromatography separate devices are used for each unit operation, usually at or close to atmospheric pressure, and afford higher flexibility supporting on-line or off-line operation. The unit operations of thin-layer chromatography are defined as sample application, development and evaluation with derivatization as an optional step. The diversity of equipment for each operation contributes to the flexibility of analysis by thin-layer chromatography and supports manual, semi-automated or full-automation of the separation process. Instrument platforms are more than a convenience as they affect performance, repeatability, sample detectability, and time management. The current trend in thin-layer chromatography is to make the unit operations independent of the user so that analysts can perform other tasks while each step is performed. In addition, in thin-layer chromatography it is general practice to separate several samples simultaneously, and instrument platforms are required to accommodate this feature. In this article, we review contemporary instrumentation employed in thin-layer chromatography for sample application, development, derivatization, photodocumentation, densitometric evaluation, and hyphenation with spectroscopic detectors with an emphasis on the variety and performance of commercially available systems. Some suggestions for best practices and avoidance of common mistakes are included.