Hi - you'd probably want to avoid using "self indicating" silica for chromatography. If I'm thinking of the right thing, generally it's used as as a desiccant only with the indicator being something like cobalt (II) chloride, which changes from blue (activated, dry condition) to pink (saturated with water condition), an inorganic iron compound that changes from deep orange (activated, dry condition) to a deep green/nearly black colour (saturated with water condition) or methyl violet orange (activated, dry condition), to green (saturated with water condition). Also being coarse particles, it's unsuited to general chromatography. Something like “silica gel 60-120” or “silica gel 230-400” (where the numbers are the mesh, or particle size, depending on application) are more likely to be suitable [eg. 60–230 mesh silica gel can be used for gravity columns and 230–400 mesh for flash columns]. F254 silica gel contains a fluorescent agent that (at 254nm UV irradiation) allows for compounds to be visualised via fluorescent quenching, making it well suited to TLC applications. Still, best to buy TLC plates ready made IMO.
Best leaving self indicating silica in the bottom of a desiccator, or kept around hygroscopic agents to keep them dry etc.
Dear K. Gowri Shankar: You know silica gel uses depend on it's particle size porous.In column chromatography ( CC) for organic tethered silicon we use mesh differ from alkaloid compounds.
To remove moisture and it and its color indicates that its desiccant capability i.e. when deep blue color changes to pink indicates that silica gel has exhausted and must replace.