Editing Column chromatography (section)

{{Short description|Method to isolate a compound in a mixture}}
[[File:FDA History - Column Chromatography.jpg|thumb|250px|A chemist in the 1950s using column chromatography. The Erlenmeyer receptacles are on the floor.]]
'''Column chromatography''' in [[chemistry]] is a [[chromatography]] method used to isolate a single [[chemical compounds|chemical compound]] from a mixture. Chromatography is able to separate substances based on differential absorption of compounds to the adsorbent; compounds move through the column at different rates, allowing them to be separated into fractions. The technique is widely applicable, as many different adsorbents (normal phase, reversed phase, or otherwise) can be used with a wide range of solvents. The technique can be used on scales from micrograms up to kilograms. The main advantage of column chromatography is the relatively low cost and disposability of the [[Chromatography#Chromatography terms|stationary phase]] used in the process. The latter prevents cross-contamination and stationary phase degradation due to recycling. Column chromatography can be done using gravity to move the solvent, or using compressed gas to push the solvent through the column.

A [[Thin-layer chromatography|thin-layer chromatography]] can show how a mixture of compounds will behave when purified by column chromatography. The separation is first optimised using thin-layer chromatography before performing column chromatography.