chromatography Flashcards
what is chromatography used for
used to separate a mixture into individual components
what type of mixtures can it be used to separate
mixture of proteins,carbohydrates, nucleic acids
what does chromatography rely on
the difference in solubilities of solutes in the solvent in order to separate the mixture into individual components
what two phases are involved in chromatography
-mobile phase
-stationary phase
when do components in a mixture separate during chromatography
they separate when the mobile phase travels over the stationary phase
-the mobile phase dissolves the mixture and carries it through the stationary phase where it is separated into individual components
what affects how far each component can travel
the solubility of the component in the mobile phase,the more soluble the more time it spend in the mobile phase and so the further its carried through the stationary phase travels further than those that are less soluble as they spend less time in the solvent
what is the mobile phase in paper chromatography
-solvent ,some form of a liquid,water or ethanol
state two forms of chromatography
-paper chromatography
-thin layer chromatography
what the stationary phase in paper chromatography
the chromatography paper
state the method of paper chromatography
-draw a line with a pencil about 2 cm away from the bottom of the chromatography paper-this is our origin line
- a spot of the unknown mixture is placed on the origin line and left to dry
-suspend the chromatography paper in a solvent,make sure the solvent is below the origin line
-place a lid on top of the beaker containing the solvent so solvent doesn’t evaporate
- as the solvent travels up the chromatography paper ,the different components of the mixture move up the paper at different speeds and travel different distances .
-This depends on whether the molecules are large or small, larger molecules travel slower than small ones, and it depends on the solubility of the components in the solvent,the more soluble the more time they spend in the solvent so the further they travel
-the mixture ends up separating into different spots on the chromatography paper -this is known as a chromatogram
-to find the identity of the spots calculate their rf value and compare it to the database value of different components
-if the rf value is the same then that component must be present in the mixture
on what depends at what rate the amino acids in the organic solvent move through the silica gel
-the hydrogen bonds the amino acids form with the silica gel
-depends on the solubility of amino acids in the organic solvent
describe how you would use paper chromatography to find the identity of an unknown monosaccharide mixture
paper chromatography can be used to separate a mixture of monosaccharides
-first stain the mixture of monosaccharides because it’s colourless
-a spot of the mixture is placed on the origin line at the bottom of the chromatography paper
-then spots of known standard solutions of different monosaccharides are placed next to the mixture spot
-suspend the chromatography paper in the solvent,make sure the solvent is not touching the origin line
-place a lid on the beaker so the solvent doesn’t evaporate
- as the solvent travels up the chromatography paper the different monosaccharides within the mixture separate out at different distances from the origin line
-take the chromatography paper out and draw a line along the solvent front
-then unknown monosaccharides can then be identified by calculating the distance travelled by the spots from the origin line
-calculate the rf value of each spot by dividing the distance travelled by the spot by the distance travelled by the solvent
-compare to the rf values of known monosaccharides, match and compare the distances if they are the same then that monosaccharide is present within the mixture
what is the stationary phase in thin layer chromatography
the silica gel on the glass/plate.The amino acids are added to the end of the gel.This end is then submerged under water
what is the mobile phase in thin layer chromatography
a organic solvent .It picks up the amino acids and moves them through the stationary phase
what is thin-layer chromatography used for
to separate a mixture of amino acids into individual components