Chromatography

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Chromatography

Chromatography

Introduction The analysis of the unknown substances is organic it includes several analytical techniques like Mass Spectrometry, Chromatography and Spectophotometry. The things can be separated and identified by the help of chromatography.

What is Chromatography

It is the phrase which is used for the laboratory techniques that are used for the separation of the mixtures. The mixture which has to be separated is present in a fluid which is called as the mobile phase and it and the mixture is carried away with the help of other materials which are called as stationary phase. There are different components of a mixture and they are separated at various speeds. There is a degree of difference partitioning among the stationary phases and the mobile phases. There are very few differences in the partition coefficient of a compound and it causes the differential retention on the stationary phase and then it causes the changes in the separation.

Uses of chromatography

The technique of chromatography can be analytical or preparative. The main purpose of the preparative chromatography is to separate the components of a mixture for more advance use. The analytical chromatography is performed normally with small material and for the measurement of the relative proportions of the analytes that are present in a mixture.



Thin Layer Chromatography

The thin layer chromatography is a technique that is used to make apart those mixtures which are non-volatile. The technique of thin layer chromatography is done on plastic, glass sheet and the aluminum foil that is covered by a layer of adsorbent material which is very thin. The thin layer can be cellulose, silica gel and the aluminium oxide. The layer of adsorbent is called as the stationary phase. When the sample is applied on the plate, there is a solvent mixture which is drawn up the plate by the capillary action. This is because various analytes increase the TLC plates at different rates and the separation is performed.

The thin layer chromatography is used to observe any reaction and for the identification of the compounds that are present in a mixture. It also helps in the determination of the purity of the substance. The major example of the application involves identification of pesticides or insecticides in food and water, evaluation of the fatty acids or ceramides, analysis of the composition of the fibres of forensics and the assessment of the purity of the radiopharmaceuticals and its components. The technique of TLC can be enhanced for the automation of the different steps so that more increased resolution can be achieved with the help of TLC. It helps to allow more accurate quantitative assessment. This method is called as the high performance TLC (Zlatkis & Kaiser, 2011).

Process of thin layer chromatography

The process of TLC involves three steps which are explained below.

Spotting The sample which needs to be analyzed is mixed in a volatile solvent so that a dilute solution can be produced. In the process of spotting the small amount of the dilute solution is moved to the end ...