What is affinity chromatography?

Affinity chromatography, also called affinity purification, is a method of separating biochemical mixture, making use of a highly specific immobilization between a particular ligand and a solid support. So when a complex mixture is passed over the column, those molecules having specific binding affinity to the ligand becomes bound. After other components are washed away, the target bound molecule can be stripped from the support, resulting in its purification from the original complex sample.