Question

Give a brief description of the principles of the chromatography technique taking an example.

Answer 1

Chromatography is a method which is used for the separation of the organic compounds from inorganic compounds and their purification by passing them in a solution or a suspension.

Step by step answer: We are given to give a brief description of the principles used in chromatography.

Chromatography is a process of separating components of a mixture. All the components of a mixture are made to travel at a stationary phase at different speeds which causes them to separate from one another.

Chromatography can be possible only in gases and liquids and these substances are made to move slowly past another still substance, which can be a solid or a liquid, to separate them from each other.

The substance which is moving is called the mobile phase and the substance which is still is called the stationary phase.

Chromatography is based on the principle that components of a mixture are separated when the mixture which is a mobile phase is moved through a stationary phase, resulting in some components of the mixture being attached to the stationary phase material and the remaining mixture is passed along as the mobile phase.

For example, Chromatography is used in the drug testing industry. Every drug which we take that flows in your blood has already been tested by identifying the substances in the drug. Sport teams test for performance-enhancing drugs in players and they do that with the help of Chromatography

Note: The stationary phase must always be either a solid or a liquid particle attached to a glass or metal surface and the mobile phase will always be either a gas or a liquid.