ABSTRACT
Chromatography is the separation of components over time. Column chromatography is one of the best purification tools for proteins that can be used. Multiple types of column chromatography exist, and they have only a few similarities. The type of stationary phase material being used determines the kind of chromatography that separates a group of proteins. With every backbone substance, the polarity of the substance will have an effect on the purification, and that effect can enhance or diminish the quality of a chromatography purification step. In general, researchers prefer to use the non-polar backbone polymers if they can, due to the cleaner separations, but many times there is no real choice other than to use the more polar ones and accept that the column chromatography step will not perfectly purify the protein. Ion exchange chromatography separates proteins based upon their isoelectric points.
