A brief history of Liquid Chromatography including its major types.

1. HISTORY OF CHROMATOGRAPHY
AND
VARIOUS TYPES OF LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY
CHROMATOGRAPHY IS A SET OF LABORATORY TECHNIQUES INTENDED TO SEPARATE
COMPOUNDS FROM A MIXTURE IN ORDER TO EITHER PURIFY THEM OR FOR THEIR
IDENTIFICATION.
IT HAS HAD A POWERFUL IMPACT IN TERMS OF A SCIENTIFIC CONCEPT BEGINNING IN
1860 WITH THE WORK OF FRIEDRICH GOPPELSROEDER WHO WAS A PIONEER OF PAPER
CHROMATOGRAPHY.
HE DEVELOPED THE THEORY OF CAPILLARY ANALYSIS BY USING PAPER STRIPS WHILE
EXAMINING WINE, MILK, ALKALOIDS, DYES AND OILS AMONG OTHER.
HIS WORK WAS AN IMPROVEMENT OF THE WORK OF CHRISTIAN FRIEDRICH
SCHÖNBEIN, WHO WAS HIS MENTOR (1799-1868)
1www.orachrom.com/net

2. IN 1906 MIKHAIL TSVET, A RUSSIAN BOTANIST, DEVELOPED THE CONCEPT OF
LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY DURING HIS ATTEMPT TO PURIFY CHLOROPHYLLS
FROM PLANT EXTRACTS. THIS DISCOVERY EARNED HIM THE NICKNAME
OF, “FATHER OF CHROMATOGRAPHY” MORE APPROPRIATELY FATHER OF
“LIQUID” CHROMATOGRAPHY.
HE CONTINUED TO WORK WITH CHROMATOGRAPHY IN THE FIRST DECADE OF
THE 20TH CENTURY, PRIMARILY FOR THE SEPARATION OF PLANT PIGMENTS
SUCH AS CHLOROPHYLL, CAROTENES, AND XANTHOPHYLLS.
SINCE THESE COMPONENTS HAVE DIFFERENT COLORS (GREEN, ORANGE, AND
YELLOW, RESPECTIVELY) THEY GAVE THE TECHNIQUE ITS NAME
“CHROMATOGRAPHY” OR “COLOR WRITING”.
NEW TYPES OF CHROMATOGRAPHY DEVELOPED DURING THE 1930S AND
1940S AND CONTINUED TO THIS DAY MAKING THE TECHNIQUE USEFUL AND
ESSENTIAL FOR MANY SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION.
2www.orachrom.com/net

3. OVERVIEW OF LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY
LIMITING THE OVERVIEW TO LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY ONLY WE CAN LIST THE FOLLOWING TYPES OF
CHROMATOGRAPHY:
• NORMAL-PHASE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY (NPLC)
NORMAL-PHASE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY IS A TECHNIQUE THAT USES COLUMNS PACKED WITH POLAR
STATIONARY PHASES RUNNING NONPOLAR OR MODERATELY-POLAR MOBILE PHASES TO SEPARATE THE
COMPONENTS OF A MIXTURE. THE POLARITY OF EACH SOLUTES IS THEREFORE THE CONTROLLING FACTOR
IN THEIR MIGRATION IN THE COLUMN. THE LESS POLAR THE SOLUTE THE FASTEST ITS MIGRATION AND
DETECTION FROM THE COLUMN. THEY ARE FOLLOWED BY SOLUTES OF HIGHER POLARITY.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SPECIFIC SOLUTE-STATIONARY PHASE INTERACTION IN THIS MODE OF
CHROMATOGRAPHY IS AN ADVANTAGE OVER REVERSED-PHASE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY (RPLC) THAT
RELIES ON HYDROPHOBICITY ALONE.
NPLC IS VERY HELPFUL FOR THE SEPARATION OF ISOMERS, OR COMPOUNDS WITH DIFFERENT FUNCTIONAL
GROUP
3www.orachrom.com/net

4. • REVERSED-PHASE CHROMATOGRAPHY OR RPLC
REVERSED-PHASE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY IS A CHROMATOGRAPHY PROCEDURE IN
WHICH THE MOBILE PHASE IS MORE POLAR THAN THE STATIONARY PHASE.
THE NAME COMES FROM THE FACT THAT IN NORMAL-PHASE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY THE
MOBILE PHASE IS LESS POLAR THAN THE STATIONARY PHASE.
HYDROPHOBIC MOLECULES IN THE MOBILE PHASE TEND TO ADSORB TO THE HYDROPHOBIC
STATIONARY PHASE. THEREFORE HYDROPHILIC MOLECULES ELUTE FIRST.
4www.orachrom.com/net

5. • HYDROPHILIC INTERACTION LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY (HILIC)
HYDROPHILIC INTERACTION LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY (HILIC) IS A PARTITION CHROMATOGRAPHY
THAT IS CONSIDERED AS REVERSE REVERSED-PHASE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY. BOTH
TECHNIQUES ARE DIFFERENT FROM NORMAL PHASE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY IN WHICH WATER IS
PART OF THE MOBILE PHASE, AND THUS NOT ADSORPTION CHROMATOGRAPHY.
DR. ANDREW ALPERT SUGGESTED THE NAME IN HIS 1990 PAPER. HE DESCRIBED THE
CHROMATOGRAPHIC MECHANISM FOR IT AS LIQUID-LIQUID PARTITION CHROMATOGRAPHY WHERE
ANALYTES ELUTE IN ORDER OF INCREASING POLARITY, A CONCLUSION SUPPORTED BY PUBLISHED
DATA ON THE SUBJECT.
5www.orachrom.com/net

6. • ION EXCHANGE CHROMATOGRAPHY
ION EXCHANGE CHROMATOGRAPHY USES AN ION EXCHANGE RESIN TO SEPARATE ANALYTES BASED
ON THEIR RESPECTIVE CHARGES.
ION EXCHANGE CHROMATOGRAPHY USES A CHARGED STATIONARY PHASE TO SEPARATE CHARGED
COMPOUNDS. THESE ARE ANIONS AND CATIONS THAT ARE POSITIVELY OR NEGATIVELY CHARGED
ENTITIES INCLUDING AMINO ACIDS, PEPTIDES OR PROTEINS AS WELL AS OTHER BIOMOLECULES.
ION EXCHANGE RESINS CONSIST OF ANION EXCHANGERS AND CATION EXCHANGERS.
ANION EXCHANGERS ARE DIVIDED INTO STRONG ANION EXCHANGERS WITH A CONSTANT POSITIVE
CHARGE AND WEAK ANION EXCHANGERS WITH A VARIABLE AND ADJUSTING POSITIVE CHARGE.
CATION EXCHANGERS ALSO INCLUDE TWO CATEGORIES. STRONG CATION EXCHANGER SUCH AS
SULFOPROPYL AND SULFOETHYL AND WEAK CATION EXCHANGERS SUCH AS CARBOXYL.
6www.orachrom.com/net

7. • HYDROPHOBIC INTERACTION CHROMATOGRAPHY OR HIC
IN HYDROPHOBIC INTERACTION CHROMATOGRAPHY HYDROPHOBICITY IS USED TO SEPARATE PROTEINS FROM ONE ANOTHER.
PROTEINS WITH HYDROPHOBIC AMINO ACID SIDE CHAINS ON THEIR SURFACES INTERACT WITH AND BIND TO THE HYDROPHOBIC
GROUPS ON THE SURFACE. GROUPS SUCH AS, BUTYL, PHENYL, ETHER, T-BUTYL OR OTHER GROUP THAT ARE TETHERED TO THE
SURFACE OF THE STATIONARY PHASE.
A BUFFER WITH HIGH IONIC STRENGTH, USUALLY AMMONIUM SULFATE, IS APPLIED TO THE COLUMN AT THE START. THIS
REDUCES THE SOLVATION OF SAMPLE SOLUTES THUS AS SOLVATION DECREASES, HYDROPHOBIC REGIONS THAT BECOME
EXPOSED ARE ADSORBED BY THE MEDIUM. THE PROTEINS ARE ELUTED BY GRADUALLY DECREASING THE SALT. ELUTION CAN
ALSO BE ACHIEVED THROUGH THE USE OF MILD ORGANIC MODIFIERS OR DETERGENTS.
THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF SALTS THAT INCREASE HYDROPHOBIC INTERACTIONS IN THE ORDER OF THEIR ABILITY TO
ENHANCE INTERACTIONS.
Na2SO4, K2SO4, (NH4)2SO4, NaCL, NH4CL, NaBr, NaSCN
HYDROPHOBIC INTERACTION CHROMATOGRAPHY IS VERY SIMILAR TO REVERSED PHASE CHROMATOGRAPHY. HOWEVER THE
LIGANDS IN REVERSED PHASE CHROMATOGRAPHY ARE MUCH MORE HYDROPHOBIC THAN THE LIGANDS IN HYDROPHOBIC
INTERACTION CHROMATOGRAPHY. THIS ENABLES HYDROPHOBIC INTERACTION CHROMATOGRAPHY TO MAKE USE OF MORE
MODERATE ELUTION CONDITIONS, WHICH DO NOT DISRUPT THE SAMPLE NEARLY AS MUCH SPECIALLY PROTEINS THAT ARE
PRONE TO DENATURATION IN ORGANIC SOLVENTS USED IN RPLC.
7www.orachrom.com/net

8. • AFFINITY CHROMATOGRAPHY
AFFINITY CHROMATOGRAPHY IS A VERY SPECIFIC INTERACTION BETWEEN AN ANALYTE AND A SPECIFIC LIGAND. IT IS NOT A
COVALENT INTERACTION.
IT HAS WIDESPREAD USE IN BIOCHEMISTRY FOR THE PURIFICATION OF PROTEINS. PROTEINS THAT ARE LABELED WITH TAGS
SUCH AS HISTIDINE, BIOTIN OR ANTIGENS THAT BINDS TO SPECIFIC SURFACES EXCLUSIVELY. THESE TAGS ARE USUALLY
REMOVED AFTER THE ISOLATION OF THE PROTEINS.
AFFINITY COLUMNS ARE USED AS A PREPARATIVE STEP TO WASH OUT UNWANTED BIOMOLECULES FROM THE MIXTURE AND
RETAIN THE TARGET COMPOUND EXCLUSIVELY.
IN THIS TECHNIQUE THE BIOMOLECULE'S AFFINITY FOR A METAL (ZN, CU, FE, NI ETC.) IS TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF.
PROTEIN A FROM STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS IS ONE OF THE FIRST IMMUNOGLOBULIN BINDING MOLECULES THAT HAS BEEN
EXTENSIVELY USED DURING THE PAST 20 YEARS IN “PROTEIN A” RESINS.
BASED ON ITS AFFINITY TO IMMUNOGLOBULINS, PROTEIN A AFFINITY CHROMATOGRAPHY HAS FOUND WIDESPREAD USE AS A
TOOL IN THE DETECTION AND PURIFICATION OF ANTIBODIES.
THE BIODEGRADABLE NATURE OF THE MATRIXES TO WHICH PROTEIN A LIGAND IS ATTACHED (AGAROSE DERIVED MATRICES)
MAKES IT NECESSARY TO ADD MULTIPLE “POLISHING” STEPS TO REMOVE THE LEACHABLES INCLUDING PROTEIN A LIGAND
ITSELF.
8www.orachrom.com/net

9. • SIZE-EXCLUSION CHROMATOGRAPHY
SIZE-EXCLUSION CHROMATOGRAPHY OR SEC ALSO KNOWN AS GEL PERMEATION CHROMATOGRAPHY OR GPC
OR GEL FILTRATION CHROMATOGRAPHY OR GFC SEPARATES MOLECULES ACCORDING TO THEIR SIZES.
SMALLER MOLECULES CAN ENTER THE PORES OF THE MEDIA AND THEREFORE CAN BE SLOWED IN THEIR
ELUTION IN THE COLUMN. THE AVERAGE RESIDENCE TIME IN THE PORES DEPENDS UPON THE ACTUAL SIZE OF
THE MOLECULES. HOWEVER, MOLECULES THAT ARE LARGER THAN THE AVERAGE PORE SIZE OF THE PACKING
ARE NOT RETAINED AND ELUTE FIRST.
IT IS GENERALLY A LOW-RESOLUTION CHROMATOGRAPHY TECHNIQUE AND THEREFORE IT IS OFTEN
RESERVED FOR THE FINAL, "POLISHING" STEP OF THE PURIFICATION. IT IS ALSO USEFUL FOR DETERMINING
THE TERTIARY OR QUATERNARY STRUCTURE OF PURIFIED PROTEINS, ESPECIALLY SINCE IT CAN BE RUN
UNDER MILD CONDITIONS.
9www.orachrom.com/net

10. • TWO-DIMENSIONAL CHROMATOGRAPHY
AT TIMES A SINGLE COLUMN IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO SEPARATE ALL THE COMPOUNDS TO BE
ANALYZED. IT THEN BECOMES NECESSARY TO DIRECT THE UNRESOLVED PEAKS INTO A SECOND
COLUMN WITH A DIFFERENT PHASE AND PROPERTY.
SINCE THE MECHANISM OF SEPARATION IN THE SECOND COLUMN IS DIFFERENT FROM THE FIRST
ONE IT THEN BECOMES POSSIBLE TO SEPARATE THE COMPOUNDS THAT WERE INDISTINGUISHABLE
IN THE FIRST DIMENSION, THUS THE NEED FOR TWO-DIMENSIONAL CHROMATOGRAPHY.
10www.orachrom.com/net

11. • SIMULATED MOVING-BED CHROMATOGRAPHY
THIS TECHNIQUE IS A VARIANT OF HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY. IT IS USED TO SEPARATE
COMPOUNDS THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO RESOLVE BY A SINGLE COLUMN WITH LIMITED LENGTH.
IN THIS PROCESS THE SEPARATION IS ACHIEVED BY USING MULTIPLE SMALLER COLUMNS CONNECTED TO
EACH OTHER WITH VALVE IN ORDER TO INCREASE THE LENGTH OF THE EFFECTIVE COLUMN.
IN ITS USE FOR PREPARATIVE CHROMATOGRAPHY RATHER THAN MOVING THE BED, THE SAMPLE INLET AND
THE ANALYTE EXIT POSITIONS VALVES ARE CONTINUOUSLY AND RHYTHMICALLY SWITCHED SIMULATING A
MOVING BED PHENOMENON.
THERE IS THEREFORE A COMPLEX VALVE ARRANGEMENT THAT PROVIDES A SAMPLE AND SOLVENT FEED AS
WELL AS A WASTE AND ANALYTE OUTLET.
THE SAMPLE ENTRY GOES IN ONE DIRECTION WHILE THE SOLVENT IS ENTERED IN THE OPPOSITE
DIRECTION. SAME GOES FOR THE ANALYTE AND WASTE OUTLET AS WELL.
THIS TECHNIQUE IS MEANT FOR BINARY COMPOUNDS OR A SINGLE COMPOUND OUT OF A GROUP OF OTHER
COMPOUNDS IN THE MIXTURE.
IT IS CONSIDERABLY FASTER AS IT IS CONTINUOUS AS COMPARED WITH BATCH CHROMATOGRAPHY.
11www.orachrom.com/net

12. • SCHEMATIC OF AN SMB PROCESS
Extract
FeedRaffinate
Eluent
Direction of the
flow and column
switching
12www.orachrom.com/net

13. • FAST PROTEIN LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY OR FPLC
THIS TERM IS USED TO DESCRIBE A NUMBER OF CHROMATOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES THAT ARE USED
TO PURIFY PROTEINS.
THESE TECHNIQUES ARE SIMILAR TO THOSE USED FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID
CHROMATOGRAPHY (HPLC) WITH THE DISTINCTION THAT FPLC IS OFTEN USED IN THE PREPARATION
OF LARGE SCALE BATCHES OF A PURIFIED PRODUCT.
IT HAS BEEN USED WITH SOFT GEL MEDIA AND LARGE BORE COLUMNS AND THEREFORE OPERATES
AT LOW LINEAR FLOW RATES AS WELL AS LOW PRESSURES.
13www.orachrom.com/net

14. • CHIRAL CHROMATOGRAPHY
CHIRAL CHROMATOGRAPHY CONSISTS OF SEPARATING STEREOISOMERS. THE STATIONARY PHASE
HAS AN OPTICALLY ACTIVE LIGAND ATTACHED TO IT IN ORDER TO GENERATE A CHIRAL STATIONARY
PHASE (CSP).
THE ENANTIOMERS OR OPTICAL ISOMERS DISPLAY DIFFERENT AFFINITY TOWARDS THE CHIRAL
STATIONARY PHASE AND THEREFORE ARE DIFFERENTLY RETAINED BY THE COLUMN. THIS
CONSTITUTES THE BASIS FOR THEIR SEPARATION.
14www.orachrom.com/net

15. • MONOLITHIC HPLC COLUMNS FOR LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY.
THESE COLUMNS ARE SPECIAL TYPE COLUMNS WITH POROUS CHANNELS RATHER THAN BEADS. IT
ELIMINATES THE INTERSTITIAL SPACES BETWEEN BEADS AND REPLACES IT WITH THROUGH PORES
MAKING THE SIZE OF BEAD OBSOLETE.
THEIR PRIMARY USE IS IN HPLC INSTRUMENTS THAT ARE THE MOST USED LABORATORY
INSTRUMENTS AFTER ANALYTICAL BALANCES AND pH METERS (AS OF 2011).
THE NEED FOR IMPROVED TECHNOLOGY IN CHROMATOGRAPHY MEDIA AND PARTICULARLY HPLC
COLUMNS IS THEREFORE VERY CLEAR.
ALTHOUGH THERE HAS BEEN ADVANCES IN THIS AREA IT HAS BEEN RATHER INCREMENTAL DURING A
LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
SEPARATION IN COLUMN IS DEPENDENT ON THE CHEMISTRY AND STRUCTURE OF THE COLUMN
THUS THE IMPORTANCE OF CHROMATOGRAPHY COLUMNS AND MEDIA.
15www.orachrom.com/net