Classification by purpose

When used for analytical purposes (separation, identification and/or quantification of all or part of the constituents of a more or less complex mixture), development proceeds by elution: the phase system is chosen so that the species of interest have a greater affinity for the stationary phase than the constituents of the mobile phase, and only a very small quantity of the sample is injected; the different species migrate through the column (or plate) at different speeds, under the influence of the mobile phase acting by mass action, and the result, after travelling a sufficient length, is a complete separation, under well-chosen conditions, of the solute bands. Each species appears in the chromatographic column effluent in the form of a concentration...