Countercurrent chromatography

Countercurrent chromatography (CCC, also counter-current chromatography) is a form of liquid–liquid chromatography that uses a liquid stationary phase that is held in place by centrifugal force and is used to separate, identify, and quantify the chemical components of a mixture. In its broadest sense, countercurrent chromatography encompasses a collection of related liquid chromatography techniques that employ two immiscible liquid phases without a solid support. The two liquid phases come in contact with each other as at least one phase is pumped through a column, a hollow tube or a series of chambers connected with channels, which contains both phases. The resulting dynamic mixing and settling action allows the components to be separated by their respective solubilities in the two phases. A wide variety of two phase solvent systems consisting of at least two immiscible liquids may be employed to provide the proper selectivity for the desired separation.