Examples of Adsorption

Adsorption of viruses

• During viral infections, the first step in viral replication is the attachment and adsorption of the virus on the surface of the organism.
• Adsorption of the virus is achieved when the specific proteins on the viral capsid bind to the receptors present on the surface of the organism.
• These interactions are highly specific and play an essential role in viral replication.
• The interactions are chemical bonds that are formed between different proteins.
• Viral adsorption is affected by the pH change and temperature of the surface.

Adsorption chromatography

• Adsorption chromatography is a separation technique that utilizes the principle of adsorption for the separation of various particles in a mixture.
• Based on the affinity of the particles in the mixture to the stationary phase, bonds are formed, which helps in the separation of materials with higher affinity and lower affinity.
• The particles of the mixture move through the stationary phase where the particles adsorb onto the vacant spaces on the stationary phase.
• The molecules with lower affinity simply move through the system and are collected separately.
• The interactions formed between the particles and the stationary phase is specific and are mostly chemical bonds.