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Chromatography Procedure

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1. Two pieces of chromatography paper are trimmed so they are exactly 20.5 cm by 11 cm. The paper is handled by its edges only to avoid contamination from finger oils.
2. The mobile phase is prepared by dissolving a pinch of salt in 50 mL of room temperature distilled water. The salt is stirred until completely dissolved and set aside to use in step 12.
3. Enough mobile phase is transferred to the 400-600 mL beaker so that the liquid level is no more than 5 mm above the bottom of the beaker. The beaker is covered with a watch glass to allow the liquid and vapor to come to equilibrium.
4. 1 cm is measured from the bottom of the paper on both sides, and a light line is drawn using pencil carefully so the fibers of the paper are not broken across …show more content…

The columns are labeled above each mark at the top of the paper with a descriptor to identify which spot is which sample or standard. All of the standards need to be included on each paper so that the components of the unknowns can be identified.
7. A few drops of each dye standard solution are transferred into the well plate to avoid contamination.
8. A clean toothpick is used for every standard to place a small spot of the dye on the cross mark of the paper in the appropriate column. The spot cannot get too large, or the chromatogram may be streaky and difficult to read. Spots should not be greater than 2 mm in width. The spot may have to dry and more sample will have to be added to get a dark spot without the spot becoming too diffuse.
9. To prepare the food samples, a small amount of water is used to dissolve the dye and a clean toothpick is used to transfer the sample. It is important that the food samples are as concentrated as possible so that the dyes can be visualized after they have spread out during separation.
a. For solid candies, place a drop of water on the candy, and let it sit for a few minutes so that the water can dissolve the dye in the candy shell. Alternatively, you can wet your toothpick and scrub on the surface of the candy to pick up some of the color and then transfer directly to the chromatography

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