Ion exchange chromatography (or ion chromatography, IC) is a subset of liquid chromatography which is a process that allows the separation of ions and polar molecules based on their charge. Similar to liquid chromatography, ion chromatography utilizes a liquid mobile phase, a separation column and a detector to measure the species eluted from the column. Ion-exchange chromatography can be applied to the determination of ionic solutes, such as inorganic anions, cations, transition metals, and low molecular weight organic acids and bases. It can also be used for almost all kinds of charged molecule including large proteins, small nucleotides and amino acids. The IC technique is frequently used for the identification and quantification of ions in various matrices.