The History of Flash Column Chromatography

The flash column chromatography method is to separate the constituents from the mixture and thus purify it. In a word, flash column chromatography makes the samples go through the column which is filled with gel to achieve separation.

In the beginning, the founder of flash column chromatography, Mr. Still together with his colleagues had been using medium-pressure chromatography and short-column chromatography to replace long-column chromatography. Later they decided to combine the above two methods to overcome the defects of time-consuming and low recovery.

Initially, the gel used for filling the column is silica gel, and it is still widely applied nowadays. Laboratory workers use air pressure to push the solvent through the silica gel column, and then use the same solvent to make the sample go through the column. At last, they collect purified constituents. The whole process costs about 5 to 10 minutes.

Since the first outcome of silica gel flash column chromatography, it has been widely applied in the field of organic chemistry. Compared with high-performance liquid chromatography, the resolution ratio of flash column chromatography has reached the medium level.

Developed in the 1970s, flash column chromatography is the method of isolating and purifying a component from a mixture by passing the sample through the flash column filled with a gel.

The inventors of flash column chromatography were using medium pressure chromatography and short column chromatography to replace the long column chromatography. And then they found a new way of combining the pressure and short column together to avoid taking too much time and achieving poor recovery.

The technique of flash column chromatography is well known because it presents the faster flow rates of the solvent than simple gravity flow. The silica gel was used as the original gel to line the column. And the silica gel is still in practice widely nowadays.

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