CHROMATOGRAPHY, Vol. 29 (2008), No. 3, pp. -1

Ice chromatography, in which water-ice particles are used as a chromatographic stationary phase, is an efficient method to probe the molecular interaction taking place on the surface of water-ice. Hydrogen bonding is a dominant retention mechanism at the temperatures of <-2℃. A retention model indicates that two hydrogen bonds are simultaneously formed between an analyte molecule and the dangling bonds of water-ice regardless of the number of polar groups involved in an analyte molecule. As the temperature is raised, the quasi liquid layer (QLL) is developed at the surface of water-ice, and, in turn, the partition into QLL dominates the retention of water-soluble analytes. The thickness of QLL can be evaluated on the basis of an increase in retention due to the mechanism change.