Question

1. Swelling of a resin can be a time-consuming process but is necessary for proper separation of analytes. Explain what occurs at the molecular level during swelling and why the buffer choice is important.

Answer 1

For separation of various compounds, chromatography technique has been used from the last decades. In this technique, different resins are being used as a stationary phase in the column. Before starting the separation process we need to activate the column with a suitable solvent (mobile phase) for a few hours and it is very important step in the separation technique. Because the resins need to swell as much as possible for developing pores and stabilization of ion density. In this process, the resin will swell at molecular level to form proper cavities and stability of charges. The entropy of the molecules in the resin will be maximum. During this process, small molecules and air bubbles get removed from the column.

Further, buffer choice is very important for the stabilization of the pH of the column, because pH will affect the ions in the column as a result, separation may get effected.