Chromatography , technique for separating the components, or solutes, of a mixture on the basis of the relative amounts of each solute distributed between a moving fluid stream, called the mobile phase, and a contiguous stationary phase. Learn more about chromatography in this article. Chromatography is a technique for separating a mixture of components into their constituents by distributing them in equilibrium between two phases, the stationary phase, and the mobile phase. The basis for the chromatography method is the variation in the rate at which various mixture components pass through the stationary phase when a suitable mobile phase is present. M. S. Tswett discovered chromatography at the beginning of the 20th century. Tswett provided an in-depth explanation of the ... Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) Thin layer chromatography (TLC) is a laboratory technique used to separate and identify the components of a mixture. It is similar to paper chromatography , but it uses a thin layer of a solid adsorbent material, such as silica gel or alumina, coated onto a glass plate or plastic sheet as the stationary phase. Understand chromatography from sample prep to detection, learn its principle, key parts, common types, factors, applications, pros, cons and safety tips.