Thin layer chromatography industry includes thin layer chromatography instruments and consumables such as plate, carrier, coater and point sampler etc. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) is a planar chromatographic technique introduced in the 1950s as a fast, easy, and inexpensive method for qualitative analysis. It is used to separate non-volatile mixtures. Thin-layer chromatography is performed on a sheet of glass, plastic, or aluminium foil, which is coated with a thin layer of adsorbent material, usually silica gel, aluminium oxide (alumina), or cellulose. This layer of adsorbent is known as the stationary phase.

Global thin layer chromatography market was valued at 386 Million US$ in 2018 and is projected to reach 577 Million US$ by 2024, at a CAGR of 6.92% during the forecast period.

The three largest industrial applications for thin layer chromatography are in chemical, pharmaceutical, and food testing. One of the most common specific types of clinical tests performed with TLC is for the presence of drugs of abuse. In the pharmaceutical industry, TLC is widely used in production and quality assurance applications. The presence or absence of substances can be determined qualitatively, while quantitative tests can determine the purity of a drug sample. Within the food industry, TLC is used for many different applications, ranging from lipid separation to food dye analysis. 

Although TLC can be fully automated, it is commonly a manual technique. Consequently, aftermarket supplies and consumables dominate the market with nearly three-fourths of the share. TLC faces competition from HPLC and, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry, flash chromatography.

Key players in global thin layer chromatography market include: Merck Millipore, Analtech, Macherey-Nagel, Agilent Technologies, Camag, Sorbtech, DWK Life Sciences, MP Biomedicals, Shanghai Kezhe etc.