Analtech TLC used for historic conservation

February 11, 2009 at 02:15 PM

Laura Brill, Kress Fellow at the Shelburne Museum and part of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, recently embarked on the adventure of trying to discover the various components used to make 19th century patent leather.

Here's an excerpt from her blog entry:

"The coatings are a jumble of materials, so I am using a variety of techniques to try to separate and analyze them. One of the methods is thin layer chromatography (TLC). I was directed to Analtech for all my TLC needs, and their website was both amusing and helpful. In case you might ever need some silica gel coated plates or want to know how to detect anabolic steroids, they seem to be the ones to go to. I mean, their products were on CSI, and their web design/marketing is pretty fantastic."

You can read the complete post and offer your comments to Laura by clicking here.