Could chromatography induce a conformational change?

We'd been studying chromatography in our instrumental analysis course and I was wondering if chromatography could induce a conformational change.


For example, you have a straight chain with a hydrophobic side and hydrophilic side; when relaxed, its conformation is such that it has a hydrophilic outer surface and a hydrophobic core.


If you run it through a normal phase column, could the stationary phase cause a change in conformation to, let's say, a hydrophilic core and hydrophobic outer surface? 


Also, if this could happen, then it would initially go through the column at a rate similar to the mobile phase and then slow way down, yes? If so, what would be the implication? Would the peaks be broadened?




While I do not have numbers at hand to support it, I think it is possible, chromatography on silica indeed may influence, may restrain the conformational flexibilty of molecules in the mobile phase.


Normal phase chromatography depends on adsorption. A complete rotation around a $\sigma$-bond, even in absence of other molecules around, needs some energy to pass from one stagggered to an other staggered conformtion.


[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/TrksK.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/TrksK.png)


([figure source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conformational_isomerism))


If there were now -- instead of methyl groups separated by three bonds, as depicted in the diagram -- two groups with a high affinity to the stationary phase, this said energetical barrier would increase. Assuming lowered temperature and affinity of these groups "just intense enough" (e.g., deportontated sulfonic acids, not per-alkylated ammonium groups), the propability to find one molecule in such $\ce{s-cis}$ conformation will increase. I just see a potentially relevent publication [*Langmuir*, **2004**, *20*, 10639–10647](http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/la0484725) about proteins decoiling on silica. I imagine, amphiphlic structures like reverse [micelles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micelle) may be equally influenced and will "swap their inner to the outer" as if they were (again) exposed to aqueous systems when facing silica.


Yet I am still hesitant to state if this may by become a constraint, leading to a situation where once conformation is looked, as in the instance of [atropisomers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atropisomer).


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