History of Thin-Layer Chromatography

From Discovery to Latest Developments

The history of thin-layer chromatography is an excellent example of how scientific advances directly follow the achievements of previous contributors. Over the past century, TLC has been characterized by a number of important milestones, each enabling new possibilities in analytical chemistry.

Our Role in the History of Thin-Layer Chromatography

As a pioneer in TLC, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany introduced the first pre-coated plates on the market. And we continue to develop innovative products to meet the requirements of today's demanding TLC and HPTLC applications. We offer reliable TLC plates in a wide range of chemistries, sizes and backings to suit a variety of requirements. They combine robustness with the highest surface homogeneity for unsurpassed separation performance. Our HPTLC plates provide even greater sensitivity, and facilitate standardization and validation procedures.

1900s: History of Thin-Layer Chromatography - The Beginning

Chromatography was first used in Russia by the Italian-born scientist Mikhail Tsvet in 1903. He continued to work with chromatography in the first decade of the 20th century, primarily for the separation of plant pigments, such as chlorophyll, carotenes, and xanthophylls. Since these components have different colors (green, orange, and yellow, respectively) they gave the technique its name. New types of chromatography, developed during the 1930s and 1940s, made the separation technique useful for many other applications.