Development chamber:

Important equipment used in paper chromatography is a development chamber where chromatogram is developed in a controlled environment. Some commercially available development chambers used in ascending and descending PC are shown in Figure.  In ascending chromatography, the paper is supported by means of a clip as shown in Figure.

Figure:  Some typical Developing chambers for paper chromatography: (a) Ascending and (b) Descending

In descending PC, the top edge of the paper is held down by a glass rod or strip as shown in Figure. The development chamber is presaturated with the solvent system and then paper is hung with its end dipping in the solvent system as shown in the figure. The solvent starts rising slowly and then it stops after some time. It may take an hour or even longer.