3. History
Mikhail Tswett, Russian, 18721919
Botanist
In 1906 Tswett used to chromatography to
separate plant pigments
He called the new technique chromatography
because the result of the analysis was
'written in color' along the length of the
adsorbent column
Chroma means “color” and graphein means to “write”
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4. Milestones in Chromatography
1903 Tswett - plant pigments separated on chalk
columns
1931 Lederer & Kuhn - LC of carotenoids
1938 TLC and ion exchange
1950 reverse phase LC
1954 Martin & Synge (Nobel Prize)
1959 Gel permeation
1965 instrumental LC (Waters)
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5. Introduction to Chromatography
Definition
Chromatography is a separation technique based on the different
interactions of compounds with two phases, a mobile phase and a
stationary phase, as the compounds travel through a supporting
medium.
The chromatographic process occurs due to differences in the
distribution constant of the individual sample components.
Components:
mobile phase: a solvent that flows through the supporting medium
stationary phase: a layer or coating on the supporting medium that
interacts with the analytes
supporting medium: a solid surface on which the stationary phase is
bound or coated
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6. Chromatography
Is a technique used to separate
and identify the components
of a mixture.
Works by allowing the
molecules present in the
mixture to distribute
themselves between a
stationary and a mobile
medium.
Molecules that spend most of their time in
the mobile phase are carried along faster.
7. Applications of Chromatography
Chromatography has application in every branch of the
physical and biological sciences
Nobel prizes were awarded between 1937 and 1972 alone 12
for work in which chromatography played a vital role
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8. Applications of Chromatography
separating mixtures of
compounds
Forensics
Research
Pharmaceutical industry
identifying unknown
compounds
establishing the purity or
concentration of compounds
monitoring product
formation in the
pharmaceutical and
biotechnology industries
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11. Classification of chromatography according to ( 1)
:Phase involved
1.) The primary division of chromatographic techniques is based
on the type of mobile phase used in the system:
Type of Chromatography
Gas chromatography (GC)
Liquid chromatograph (LC)
Type of Mobile Phase
gas
liquid
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12. 2.) Further divisions can be made based on the type of
stationary phase used in the system:
Gas Chromatography
Name of GC Method
Type of Stationary Phase
Gas-solid chromatography
solid, underivatized support
Gas-liquid chromatography
liquid-coated support
Bonded-phase gas chromatography
chemically-derivatized
support
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13. Liquid Chromatography
Name of LC Method
Adsorption chromatography
Partition chromatography
Ion-exchange chromatography
Size exclusion chromatography
Affinity chromatography
Type of Stationary Phase
solid, underivatized support
liquid-coated or derivatized support
support containing fixed charges
porous support
support with immobilized ligand
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14. Classification according to the packing of the( 2)
:stationary phase
In column chromatography the stationary phase is
contained in a tube called the column.
Planar chromatography. In this geometry the stationary
phase is configured as a thin two-dimensional sheet.
(i) In paper chromatography a sheet or a narrow strip of
paper serves as the stationary phase.
(ii) In thin-layer chromatography a thin film of a stationary
phase of solid particles bound together for mechanical
strength with a binder, such as calcium sulfate, is coated
on a glass plate or plastic or metal sheet.
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15. (3) Classification according to the force of separation:
Mode or type
Stationary phase
Mobile
phase
Mechanism
Adsorption
Chromatography
Solid that attracts
the solutes
Liquid or
gas
Solutes move at different rates according to
the forces of attraction to the stationary
.phase
Partition
Chromatography
Thin film of liquid Liquid or
formed on the
gas
surface of a solid
inert support
Ion Exchange
Chromatography
Solid resin that
carries fixed ions
& mobile
couterions of
opposite charge
attached by
covalent bonds
Liquid
Solute ions of charge opposite to the fixed
containing ions are attracted to the resin by
electrolytes electrostatic forces & replace the mobile
.counterions
Molecular Exclusion
Chromatography
Porous gel with no
attractive action
on solute
molecules
Liquid
:Molecules separate according to their size
1.Smaller molecules enter the pores of the
gel, and need a larger volume of eluent.
2.Larger molecules pass through the
column at a faster rate.
Affinity
Chromatography
Solid on which
specific molecules
are immobilized
Liquid or
gas
Special kind of solute molecules interact
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with those immobilized on the stationary
phase
Solutes equilibrate between the 2 phases
according to their partition coefficients
16. Term
Definition
Solvent
Mobile liquid phase with no affinity to the stationary phase
.(i.e. inert towards it) & no effect on solutes
Developer
Any liquid with more affinity to the stationary phase than
the solvent but less than solutes and just capable to move
.them through the column
Effluent
.Any liquid that passes out of the column
Eluent
Any liquid that has lesser affinity to the stationary phase
.than solutes but is capable to move them out of the column
Eluate
.Fraction of eluent containing a required specific substance
Retention
) volume (VR
or retardation volume): Volume of mobile phase that (
passes out of the column, before elution of a specific
.substance
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18. Theory of Chromatography
1.) Typical response obtained by chromatography (i.e., a chromatogram):
chromatogram - concentration versus elution time
Wh
Wb
Inject
Where:
tR = retention time
tM = void time
Wb = baseline width of the peak in time units
Wh = half-height width of the peak in time units
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19. Note: The separation of solutes in chromatography depends on two factors:
(a) a difference in the retention of solutes (i.e., a difference in their time or volume of
elution
(b) a sufficiently narrow width of the solute peaks (i.e, good efficiency for the separation
system)
Peak width & peak position
determine separation of peaks
A similar plot can be made in terms of elution volume instead of elution time
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20. 2.) Solute Retention:
A solute’s retention time or retention volume in chromatography is directly related to the
strength of the solute’s interaction with the mobile and stationary phases.
Retention on a given column pertain to the particulars of that system:
- size of the column
- flow rate of the mobile phase
Capacity factor (k’): more universal measure of retention, determined from t
R
or VR.
k’ = (tR –tM)/tM
or
k’ = (VR –VM)/VM
capacity factor is useful for comparing results obtained on different systems since it is
independent on column length and flow-rate.
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21. 3.) Efficiency:
Efficiency is related experimentally to a solute’s peak width.
- an efficient system will produce narrow peaks
- narrow peaks smaller difference in interactions in order to separate two solutes
Efficiency is related theoretically to the various kinetic processes that are involved in
solute retention and transport in the column
- determine the width or standard deviation (σ) of peaks
Estimate σ from peak widths,
assuming Gaussian shaped peak:
Wh
Wb = 4σ
Wh = 2.354σ
Dependent on the amount of time that a solute spends in the column (k’ or tR)
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22. Number of theoretical plates (N):
compare efficiencies of a system for solutes that
have different retention times
N = (tR/σ)2
or for a Gaussian shaped peak
N = 16 (tR/Wb)2
N = 5.54 (tR/Wh)2
The larger the value of N is for a column, the better the column will be able to separate
two compounds.
- the better the ability to resolve solutes that have small differences in retention
- N is independent of solute retention
- N is dependent on the length of the column
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25. a.) Eddy diffusion – a process that leads to peak (band) broadening due to the
presence of multiple flow paths through a packed column.
As solute molecules travel through the column,
some arrive at the end sooner then others simply
due to the different path traveled around the
support particles in the column that result in
different travel distances.
Longer path arrives at end of column after (1).
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26. b.) Mobile phase mass transfer – a process of peak broadening caused by the
presence of different flow profile within channels or
between particles of the support in the column.
A solute in the center of the channel
moves more quickly than solute at the
edges, it will tend to reach the end of
the channel first leading to bandbroadening
The degree of band-broadening due to eddy diffusion and mobile phase
mass transfer depends mainly on:
1) the size of the packing material
2) the diffusion rate of the solute
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27. c.) Stagnant mobile phase mass transfer – band-broadening due to differences in the
rate of diffusion of the solute molecules between the
mobile phase outside the pores of the support
(flowing mobile phase) to the mobile phase within
the pores of the support (stagnant mobile phase).
Since a solute does not travel down
the column when it is in the stagnant
mobile phase, it spends a longer time
in the column than solute that
remains in the flowing mobile phase.
The degree of band-broadening due to stagnant mobile phase mass
transfer depends on:
1) the size, shape and pore structure of the packing material
2) the diffusion and retention of the solute
3) the flow-rate of the solute through the column
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28. d.) Stationary phase mass transfer – band-broadening due to the movement of solute
between the stagnant phase and the stationary phase.
Since different solute molecules
spend different lengths of time in the
stationary phase, they also spend
different amounts of time on the
column, giving rise to bandbroadening.
The degree of band-broadening due to stationary phase mass transfer
depends on:
1) the retention and diffusion of the solute
2) the flow-rate of the solute through the column
3) the kinetics of interaction between the solute and the
stationary phase
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29. e.) Longitudinal diffusion – band-broadening due to the diffusion of the solute along the
length of the column in the flowing mobile phase.
The degree of band-broadening due
to longitudinal diffusion depends on:
1) the diffusion of the solute
2) the flow-rate of the solute through
the column
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30. Van Deemter equation:
relates flow-rate or linear velocity to H:
H = A + B/µ + Cµ
where:
phase
µ = linear velocity (flow-rate x Vm/L)
H = total plate height of the column
A = constant representing eddy diffusion &
mobile phase mass transfer
B = constant representing longitudinal diffusion
C = constant representing stagnant mobile
& stationary phase mass transfer
One use of plate height (H) is to relate these kinetic process to band broadening to a
parameter of the chromatographic system (e.g., flow-rate).
This relationship is used to predict what the resulting effect would be of varying this
parameter on the overall efficiency of the chromatographic system.
Number of theoretical plates(N)
(N) = 5.54 (tR/Wh)2peak width (Wh)
H = L/N
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31. Plot of van Deemter equation shows how H changes with the linear velocity (flow-rate) of the
mobile phase
µ optimum
Optimum linear velocity (µopt) - where H has a minimum value and the point of maximum
column efficiency:
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32. 4.) Measures of Solute Separation:
separation factor (α) – parameter used to describe how well two solutes are separated by
a chromatographic system:
α = k’2/k’1
k’ = (tR –tM)/tM
where:
k’1 = the capacity factor of the first solute
k’2 = the capacity factor of the second solute,
with k’2 k’1
A value of α 1.1 is usually indicative of a good separation
Does not consider the effect of column efficiency or peak widths, only retention.
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Most chromatography uses modern instrumentation and involves placing the sample to be analysed on a support (paper or silica) and transporting it along a mobile phase. The mobile phase can be a liquid (liquid chromatography) or a gas (gas chromatography).