Analytical Chemistry and Separation Science at Molecular Level

The science studying the mechanisms regarding separation and its subsequent detection and determination is referred to as separation science, which has another highly popular name, that is, chromatography. Chromatography represents the main application of analytical chemistry in the pharmaceutical industry. Ions exist in solutions. Ionic strength represents the magnitude of the electric field caused by all the ions in a solution. Protonation indicates an addition of a proton to an atom, a molecule, or an ion. Deprotonation means an abstraction of the proton from an atom, a molecule, or an ion. This chapter discusses charge–dipole and dipole–dipole interaction, electron donor–acceptor interaction, and hydrophobic interactions. Hydrogen bonding is a subcategory of van der Waals forces, which describes dipole–dipole interaction between molecules. The chapter also provides information on the applications of the knowledge of molecular interactions in chromatographic method development.