Chromatography: Monosaccharides Flashcards
What is a chromatography?
A technique used to separate mixtures into its individual components
What two phases are used in chromatography?
The mobile and stationary phase
How does chromatography work?
Unknown components in a mixture separate. Differences in solubilities affect how far each component travels. Components with higher solubility will travel further than others.
What is the mobile phase and the stationary phase in paper chromatography?
The mobile phase is the solvent in which the molecules move in, the liquid (water or ethanol in paper chromatography)
The stationary phase is the chromatography paper
How is paper chromatography done?
- A straight line is drawn at the base of the chromatography paper in pencil
- A spot of the mixture is placed at the base of the paper where the line has been drawn, left to dry
- The paper is suspended in a beaker where the solvent lies at the bottom
- As the solvent moves up the paper, the components of the mixture move up and eventually stops according to their solubilities
- This produces a chromatogram
How can you use chromatography to separate a mixture of monosaccharides?
- Draw a straight line at base of chromatography paper with pencil
- Place four dots on line, consisting of three known standard solutions and one stained monosaccharide sample
- Suspend the chromatography paper over the solvent
- As solvent travels up the paper, different monosaccharides within mixture separate out at different distances from line
- Unknown monosaccharides can be compared and matched to the known standard solution
What are the different things you have to do when it comes to coloured and colourless molecules when conducting a chromatography test?
A coloured molecule does not require staining as it is already stained. However a colourless molecule (mixture of monosaccharides) tends to require staining
