Ion chromatography

Ion chromatography (or ion-exchange chromatography) is a chromatography process that separates ions and polar molecules based on their affinity to the ion exchanger. It works on almost any kind of charged molecule—including large proteins, small nucleotides, and amino acids. However, ion chromatography must be done in conditions that are one unit away from the isoelectric point of a protein. The two types of ion chromatography are anion-exchange and cation-exchange. Cation-exchange chromatography is used when the molecule of interest is positively charged. The molecule is positively charged because the pH for chromatography is less than the pI. In this type of chromatography, the stationary phase is negatively charged and positively charged molecules are loaded to be attracted to it. Anion-exchange chromatography is when the stationary phase is positively charged and negatively charged molecules (meaning that pH for chromatography is greater than the pI) are loaded to be attracted to it. It is often used in protein purification, water analysis, and quality control. The water-soluble and charged molecules such as proteins, amino acids, and peptides bind to moieties which are oppositely charged by forming ionic bonds to the insoluble stationary phase. The equilibrated stationary phase consists of an ionizable functional group where the targeted molecules of a mixture to be separated and quantified can bind while passing through the column—a cationic stationary phase is used to separate anions and an anionic stationary phase is used to separate cations. Cation exchange chromatography is used when the desired molecules to separate are cations and anion exchange chromatography is used to separate anions. The bound molecules then can be eluted and collected using an eluant which contains anions and cations by running higher concentration of ions through the column or changing pH of the column. One of the primary advantages for the use of ion chromatography is only one interaction involved during the separation as opposed to other separation techniques; therefore, ion chromatography may have higher matrix tolerance. Another advantage of ion exchange, is the predictability of elution patterns (based on the presence of the ionizable group). For example, when cation exchange chromatography is used, cations will elute out last. Meanwhile, the negative charged molecules will elute out first. However, there are also disadvantages involved when performing ion-exchange chromatography, such as constant evolution with the technique which leads to the inconsistency from column to column. A major limitation to this purification technique is that it is limited to ionizable group. Ion chromatography has advanced through the accumulation of knowledge over a course of many years. Starting from 1947, Spedding and Powell used displacement ion-exchange chromatography for the separation of the rare earths. Additionally, they showed the ion-exchange separation of 14N and 15N isotopes in ammonia. At the start of the 1950s, Kraus and Nelson demonstrated the use of many analytical methods for metal ions dependent on their separation of their chloride, fluoride, nitrate or sulfate complexes by anion chromatography. Automatic in-line detection was progressively introduced from 1960 to 1980 as well as novel chromatographic methods for metal ion separations. A groundbreaking method by Small, Stevens and Bauman at Dow Chemical Co. unfolded the creation of the modern ion chromatography. Anions and cations could now be separated efficiently by a system of suppressed conductivity detection. In 1979, a method for anion chromatography with non-suppressed conductivity detection was introduced by Gjerde et al. Following it in 1980, was a similar method for cation chromatography. As a result, a period of extreme competition began within the IC market, with supporters for both suppressed and non-suppressed conductivity detection. This competition led to fast growth of new forms and the fast evolution of IC. A challenge that needs to be overcome in the future development of IC is the preparation of highly efficient monolithic ion-exchange columns and overcoming this challenge would be of great importance to the development of IC. The boom of Ion exchange chromatography primarily began between 1935–1950 during World War II and it was through the 'Manhattan project' that applications and IC were significantly extended. Ion chromatography was originally introduced by two English researchers, agricultural Sir Thompson and chemist J T Way. The works of Thompson and Way involved the action of water-soluble fertilizer salts, ammonium sulfate and potassium chloride. These salts could not easily be extracted from the ground due to the rain. They performed ion methods to treat clays with the salts, resulting in the extraction of ammonia in addition to the release of calcium. It was in the fifties and sixties that theoretical models were developed for IC for further understanding and it was not until the seventies that continuous detectors were utilized, paving the path for the development from low-pressure to high-performance chromatography. Not until 1975 was 'ion chromatography' established as a name in reference to the techniques, and was thereafter used as a name for marketing purposes. Today IC is important for investigating aqueous systems, such as drinking water. It is a popular method for analyzing anionic elements or complexes that help solve environmentally relevant problems. Likewise, it also has great uses in the semiconductor industry. Because of the abundant separating columns, elution systems, and detectors available, chromatography has developed into the main method for ion analysis. When this technique was initially developed, it was primarily used for water treatment. Since 1935, ion exchange chromatography rapidly manifested into one of the most heavily leveraged techniques, with its principles often being applied to majority of fields of chemistry, including distillation, adsorption, and filtration.