Chromatography is a laboratory term for the separation of a mixed substance. These mixed substances are separated based on their physical or chemical properties; some of these properties include charge, molar mass and properties in liquid. During a chromatography separation, a series of processes including a stationary (permeable solid that is packed into a metal tube, glass tube or the walls of an open-tube capillary) and mobile phase (a liquid solvent or mixture of solvents that flows through the stationary phase caring the stationary phase along with it), these phases can be either liquid or gas. In the chromatography, the eluting solvent is used in addition with the stationary phase to help the flow of molecules …show more content…
Some popular chromatography include paper chromatography, thin layer chromatography (TLC), column chromatography, gel-filtration chromatography, affinity chromatography and antigen-antibody or immuno-affinity chromatography. Paper chromatography includes a filter paper stationary phase and a mobile phase that is controlled through capillary action. “Capillary action is as the movement of water within the spaces of a porous material due to the forces of adhesion, cohesion, and surface tension.” Capillary action is made possible through the forces of adhesion, which causes water molecule to become attracted to other substances, and cohesion, which makes water molecule stay together. In the thin layer chromatography (TLC), includes a stationary phase of a thin layer of silica, cellulose and “inert materials that coats the surface of a glass or plastic place.” This method also allows for capillary action, where similar to the paper chromatography, a sample is spotted near the bottom and is then placed in a tank with eluting solvent, the mobile phase. With the help of capillary action, the sample then travels up the paper separating the mixture …show more content…
“ This technique is mainly used for separation of macromolecules because of their selectivity, which makes affinity chromatography one of the highest forms of chromatography. In the affinity chromatography the stationary phase is a support medium (beads) in which the substrates can be react to any other substances; the mobile phase is the solution. Antigen-antibody or immuno-affinity chromatography is a kind of affinity chromatography that works by antigen-antibody interactions. This technique requires that you covalently attach an antibody to a resin. A resin is a "solid or highly viscous substance," Although this technique is a great technique, sometimes the attraction between the antibody and the antigen can destroy the activity of the protein in which it is trying to