Principles of Chromatography:

In the beginning of this course in Unit 1 of Block 1, we have realized that chromatography as a collective science which encompasses a number of important separation methods. The subject was introduced to the scientific world within an extremely modest way through M. Tswett in 1906. He employed the method to separate various pigments such as chlorophylls and xanthophylls by passing a solution of these compounds through a glass column packed with finely divided calcium carbonate. Later on this technique was named as liquid-solid adsorption chromatography. About the same time, Thompson and Way had realized the ion exchange properties of soils. Almost after three decades, in 1935, Adams and Holmes observed ion exchange character in crushed phonograph. That particular observation opened up the field for synthetic organic resin exchangers. Subsequently, a subject of ion exchange chromatography started expanding in its utility. The concept of gas-liquid chromatography was first introduced by Martin and Synge in 1941. They were also responsible for the developments in liquid-liquid partition chromatography. Moreover, in 1944, from Martin's laboratory, the separation of amino acids by paper chromatography was reported. This made people to make realize the importance of such a simple technique for tedious separations. Concurrently the efforts were being made to understand the theoretical aspects of chromatography. The high point of all these activities reached in 1952 when the contributions of Martin and Synge were recognized and they were awarded the Nobel Prize for their work in chromatographic science.