chromato-

n. 1. the paper strip, column, gel, or TLC plate on which subsances have been separated by a process of chromatography{ 2 }. [ PJC ]

2. the record of the results of a process of chromatography{ 2 }, produced by an instrument which measures some property related to the concentration of substances over the course of a chromatographic process. The record may be printed, for example, on a piece of paper, showing the concentration of some substance as a function of time or volume; or it may be retained in a computer and displayed on a video display terminal. The analytical methods for determining which substances have moved to which point on the chromatogram are very varied, and the records of the results of a visualization techique, such as autoradiography, may itself be referred to as a chromatogram. [ PJC ]

n. a piece of equipment used to perform chromatography{ 2 }. [ PJC ]

adj. of or pertaining to chromatography. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, color + -graphy. ] 1. A treatise on colors [ archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Chem.) an analytical and preparative technique for separating substances by differences in their selective adsorption to solids, by passing a liquid over the solid, to which the substances to be separated have usually been adsorbed in a preliminary step. The major variations are column chromatography, in which the substances to be separated are adsorbed to a column with any of a wide variety of adsorbing solids in powdered or granulated form; paper chromatography, in which the solids are applied as a spot at one end of a strip of absorbent paper (such as filter paper), and the liquid is percolated through the paper by capillary action; and thin-layer chromatography (TLC), which is similar to paper chromatography, but the adsorbent material is, instead of paper, a thin layer of finely powdered material, such as cellulose or silica, on a backing of glass or plastic, called a TLC plate. A modern version of column chromatography is high-performance liquid chromatography, usually referred to as HPLC. [ PJC ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, color + -logy. ] A treatise on colors. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, color + fe`rein to bear. ] 1. (Zool.) A contractile cell or vesicle containing liquid pigment and capable of changing its form or size, thus causing changes of color in the translucent skin of such animals as possess them. They are highly developed and numerous in the cephalopods. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) One of the granules of protoplasm, which in mass give color to the part of the plant containing them. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, color + -scope. ] (Astron.) A reflecting telescope, part of which is made to rotate eccentrically, so as to produce a ringlike image of a star, instead of a point; -- used in studying the scintillation of the stars. [ 1913 Webster ]