Counter-current chromatography. Applications to the separation of biopolymers, organelles and cells using either aqueous-organic or aqueous-aqueous phase systems.
Counter-current chromatography is a form of liquid-liquid chromatography which uses low-speed centrifugation to hold one phase of an immiscible liquid pair stationary while the other is eluted through it. Two types of countercurrent chromatography are described: one suitable for preparative/analytical separation with aqueous-organic phase systems and the other for analytic fractionations using aqueous-aqueous phase systems. Applications of both processes are described, ranging from the purification of antibiotics, pesticides, and peptides to the fractionation of whole cells.