What is chromatography?

It is a chemical method or procedure that separates a mixture into its individual components and is used in various branches of science by quantifying, identifying and separating the components through two phases:

  • Stationary phase where a substance remains immobile while the chromatography is executed it can be solid matter or a liquid.
  • Mobile phase where the substance moves during chromatography and can be a liquid or a gas.

There are different types of chromatography:

  • Paper chromatography. This belongs to the category “Liquid Chromatography”. La fase estacionaria se compone de una cinta de papel introducida verticalmente en un recipiente de cristal y la fase móvil de un líquido. The movement of the mobile phase occurs due to capillary force. One field of use for paper chromatography is the analysis of mixtures.
  • Thin layer chromatography. It belongs to the category “Liquid Chromatography” and the working principle is the same as that of paper chromatography; The difference between both procedures is found in the stationary phase, which in the case of thin layer chromatography is made up of pulverized matter such as alumina, silica gel or cellulose that are placed on glass plates. The advantages of thin layer chromatography are a fast run time and a high checkout sample.
  • Column Chromatography: This falls under the category “Liquid Chromatography”. In column chromatography the stationary phase is normally composed of a silica gel or powdered alumina that is introduced into a glass tube and this is filled with a solvent (mobile phase). With this procedure, the test is directed together with the mobile phase through the glass tube, which causes the mixture to separate and the components to come out successively. Fields of application of column chromatography are, for example, the cleaning of preparations.
  • Gas Chromatography: Two different procedures are used in gas chromatography, gas-liquid and gas-solid chromatography. The most widely used is the liquid gas and the carrier material (for example, silicone oil) is introduced into a spiral tube with a diameter of 0.1 to 5 mm and a length of up to 5 meters. The gas to be analyzed flows together with the carrier gas (nitrogen, helium, argon) through the spiral. At one end of the spiral a thermal conductivity detector measures the temperature oscillations. Depending on the temperature fluctuations it is possible to determine the components of the mixture.

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