The Use of Chromatographic Separation Techniques in Biomimetic Systems for the Study of Bioactive Organic Compounds

Liquid chromatography techniques used to investigate the biological properties of substances are described. The focus was on systems that mimic the environment in which the drug acts, i.e., biomimetic systems such as RP-LC with a non-polar stationary phase mimicking the interior of biological membranes, systems with phases mimicking cell membranes like the IAM-type stationary phases, micellar systems in which both the stationary and mobile phases mimic cell membranes; and systems in which the stationary phases consist of immobilised proteins. The paper discusses the chromatographic parameters used to assess the biological activity of substances, as well as the role of computational methods and statistical tools used in the analysis of chromatographic data and in the development of models to predict the biological activity of substances. The significant role of chromatography (in particular thin-layer chromatography) with biological detection in the study of the microbiological, microbiochemical and enzymatic activity of components of natural mixtures was also demonstrated.