96 Paper chromatography
Inpaper chromatographythe stationary phase is a specialized paper made to absorb
water to a high level. The mobile phase is usually water or a concentrated salt solution.
Paper chromatography has many uses in forensic chemistry due to it’s simplicity and avail-
ability. However, paper chromatography is limited by the characteristics that only water
soluble components can be separated and inaccuracy in RF values. This makes paper chro-
matography mostly useful to distinguish the differences between two residues rather than
their similarities.