Manual

One of the manual chromatography methods taught to beginning chemists is thin-layer chromatography, also known as TLC. An illustrated sequence showing thin-layer chromatography appears here:

The simplest forms of chromatography reveal the chemical composition of the analyzed mixture as residue retained by the stationary phase. In the case of thin-layer chromatography, the different liquid components of the mobile phase remain embedded in the stationary phase at distinct locations after sufficient “developing” time. The same is true in paper-strip chromatography where a simple strip of filter paper serves as the stationary phase through which the mobile phase (liquid sample and solvent) travels: the different components of the sample remain in the paper as residue, and their relative positions along the paper’s length indicating their extent of travel during the test period. If the components have different colors, the result will be a stratified pattern of colors on the paper strip.