chromatography

[ kroh-muh-tog-ruh-fee ]

nounChemistry.
  1. the separation of mixtures into their constituents by preferential adsorption by a solid, as a column of silica (column chromatography ) or a strip of filter paper (paper chromatography ), or by a liquid.

Origin of chromatography

1
First recorded in 1725–35; chromato- + -graphy

Other words from chromatography

  • chro·ma·tog·ra·pher, noun
  • chro·mat·o·graph·ic [kruh-mat-uh-graf-ik, kroh-muh-tuh-], /krəˌmæt əˈgræf ɪk, ˌkroʊ mə tə-/, adjective
  • chro·ma·to·graph·i·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use chromatography in a sentence

  • Henry Callahan stood at a bench pouring a colorless liquid down a chromatographic column.

    The Professional Approach | Charles Leonard Harness

British Dictionary definitions for chromatography

chromatography

/ (ˌkrəʊməˈtɒɡrəfɪ) /


noun
  1. the technique of separating and analysing the components of a mixture of liquids or gases by selective adsorption in, for example, a column of powder (column chromatography) or on a strip of paper (paper chromatography): See also gas chromatography

Derived forms of chromatography

  • chromatographer, noun
  • chromatographic (ˌkrəʊmətəˈɡræfɪk), adjective
  • chromatographically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for chromatography

chromatography

[ krō′mə-tŏgrə-fē ]


  1. A technique used to separate the components of a chemical mixture by moving the mixture along a stationary material, such as gelatin. Different components of the mixture are caught by the material at different rates and form isolated bands that can then be analyzed.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.