Chromatography

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌkɹəʊ.məˈtɒɡɹə.fi/

Definitions

1. A laboratory technique that separates chemical components of a mixture based on their different rates of movement through a stationary medium under the influence of a mobile phase
2. A scientific method utilized in laboratories to differentiate and isolate components within a mixture by leveraging their varying affinities for a stationary phase and a mobile phase
3. This analytical technique is applied to separate substances in a mixture according to their differing rates of migration through a fixed medium when influenced by a flowing solvent

Etymology: Chromatography was invented by the Russian-Italian botanist Mikhail Tsvet, who in 1901 and 1903 published work separating plant pigments by passing plant extracts through columns of chalk and other powders. The technique got its name from the colours he saw: the pigments separated into distinct coloured bands as they moved down the column, so he coined the term from Greek "khrōma" (colour) and "graphein" (to write), the same kind of compound used for words like photography. The word itself was built in English from the parts "chromato-" and "-graphy," with the noun formed by back-formation from the adjective "chromatographic," which came into English from German "chromatographisch." Its use was therefore rooted in a laboratory description of coloured stripes, even though the method later came to separate colourless substances as well.