thin-layer chromatography (tlc) is widely used particularly in pharmaceutical and food analysis. while there are a number of books on the qualitative identification of chemical substances by tlc, the unique focus here is on quantitative analysis. the authors describe all steps of the analytical procedure, beginning with relevant basics and equipment for quantitative tlc. they go on with sample pretreatment and sample application, development and staining, scanning and finally present the statistical and chemometric data evaluation as well as validation. an important feature is the coverage of effect-directed biological detection methods.