chromatography

Pronunciation: krō′mă-tog′ră-fē

Definition: The separation of chemical substances and particles (originally plant pigments and other highly colored compounds) by differential movement through a two-phase system. The mixture of materials to be separated is percolated through a column or sheet of some suitable absorbent (an ion-exchange material); the substances least absorbed are least retarded and emerge earliest; those more strongly absorbed emerge later.

Synonym(s): absorption chromatography

[chromato- + G. graphō, to write]

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