Extension of adsorption chromatography:

An ultimate extension of adsorption chromatography is affinity chromatography. It is associative a new advancement and is a significant tool for biomedical research. The method of affinity chromatography exploits the unique biological specificity of in a ligand-macromolecule interaction. A concept of affinity chromatography is realized by covalently attaching the ligand to an insoluble support through a spacer arm and packing the material into a chromatographic bed. If a mixture of several proteins is passed through the column, just in which protein that shows appreciable affinity for the ligand will be retained or retarded. Another which shows no recognition of the ligand will pass unretarded. The adsorbed protein could be consequently eluted through changing the composition of the solvent to permit dissociation from the ligand. The potential of this technique for the purification and isolation of biological molecules is unlimited. Specific adsorbents can be designed for the purification of enzymes, antibiotics, nucleic acids and proteins.