HPTLC methods to assay active ingredients in pharmaceutical formulations: a review of the method development and validation steps.

High-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) is still increasingly finding its way in pharmaceutical analysis in some parts of the world. With the advancements in the stationary phases and the introduction of densitometers as detection equipment, the technique achieves for given applications a precision and trueness comparable to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In this review, the literature is surveyed for developed and validated HPTLC methods to assay active ingredients in pharmaceutical formulations published in the period 2005-2011. Procedures and approaches for method development, validation and quantitative assays are compared with the standard ways of conducting them. Applications of HPTLC in some other areas are also briefly highlighted.