How Does Chromatography Work?
In all chromatographic separations, the sample is transported in a mobile phase. The mobile phase
can be a gas, a liquid, or a supercritical fluid.
The mobile phase is then forced through a stationary phase held in a column or on a solid surface.
The stationary phase needs to be something that does not react with the mobile phase or the sample.
The sample then has the opportunity to interact with the stationary phase as it moves past it. Samples that interact greatly, then appear to move more slowly.
Samples that interact weakly, then appear to move more quickly.
Because of this difference in rates, the samples can then be separated into their components.