Imagine walking into a crowded comic‑con where everyone is in costume, talking at once, and you’re supposed to find your friend dressed as one very specific superhero. That chaos? That’s your crude protein mixture. In swoops affinity chromatography, the over‑enthusiastic super‑fan with a VIP list and a velvet rope, grabbing only the molecules with the …
Ion exchange chromatography (IEX) is a liquid chromatography technique that separates molecules by their charge using a charged stationary phase and an aqueous mobile phase. It is a workhorse for purifying proteins, nucleic acids, and inorganic ions in both research and industry . Brief history Early observations of ion exchange date back to 19th‑century soil …
Column chromatography is one of those sweet spots where chemistry turns into both art and strategy—a scientific puzzle that rewards patience, planning, and a dash of intuition. At its core, column chromatography is a separation technique born from the principle that molecules have personalities. Some like to stick; others prefer to drift along. The method …
Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) is one of the most approachable yet powerful chromatography techniques. Building on the foundations of paper chromatography, TLC offers clearer results, faster separations, and more flexibility for scientists in the lab as well as learners in the classroom. Thin Layer Chromatography: A Brief History Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) emerged from scientific …
There are several types of chromatography, and the history is rich with exploration. This is the beginning of a blog series that dives deeper into the lab technique, starting with Mikhail Tsvet, who first started to explore the colourful world around us. History of Chromatography The first chromatography column was invented in 1901 by Russian …
Justus Liebig (1803 – 1873) was a German chemist that not only did groundbreaking work in organic chemistry and biological chemistry, he also transformed chemistry education and universities to be more inclusive of a variety of topics . The Man: Justus Liebig Justus von Liebig was born in 1803 in the south-central of Germany in …
Pick up a marker, and you’re writing in colour. The word “chromatography” is descriptive as it translates to “colour writing” from the Greek roots. But a simple marker is not as simple as you think. The primary colours are, but what about that orange marker? The purple? The green? That’s where things start getting interesting. …
How does a pH indicator work? Every one of us has come across a pH based experiment. My first one was the cabbage pH colour change when I was at a nerdy friend’s birthday party in 3rd grade. Most of us, though, are directed to dip the pH indicator strip into a liquid to see …
Editor’s note: This post has been updated and broken links removed. Please see our policy on broken hyperlinks for more. Copper sulphate (also spelt copper sulfate) is a common household chemical used for getting rid of algae in ponds and a fungicide for the garden and patio. It’s so much more than that from health to industry, …
Phthalates. Parabens. Pesticides. Lead. Industrial waste. All of these things are present in our lives. Clearly, the closer you live to a rural area, the more likely you’d be in contact with pesticides, and the closer you live to a city, the more likely you’ll come into contact with industrial waste. Since the early 2000s, …