Caffeine Chromatography Lab Report

Embedded in tea granules is a compound that plays a role in daily life, Caffeine. In the food industry, pure caffeine can be used to create bolder coffee and rich flavorings. However, greater are the potential uses for this compound in medicine if it can be separated effectively from tea granules. Caffeine acts as a stimulant, making humans more mentally alert. Two methods used to separate caffeine from tea granules are Thin Layer Chromatography and High Performance Counter Current Chromatography.
In TLC, a slide of glass coated in a substance can act as the stationary phase, serving as a bed for the mobile phase to move along. Samples are applied at a certain height to be carried and separated. Using this method, a silica gel coated aluminum plate is placed in the confines of a glass jar. At the bottom of the jar lies the liquid solvent (mobile phase). The process is usually started off by marking the height of …show more content…
In this case, the mobile and stationary phases are both liquids. This form of chromatography takes place through a spinning column. Firstly, the solvent system that is too be used is mixed. Then, the solvent system should slowly settle, and the system should separate into two distinct phases. The Upper phase should be used as the stationary phase and the lower phase as the mobile phase in HPCCC. The sample should be dissolved in a bit of each phase. Subsequently, the column placed in a special device called a double axis gyratory motion, and the stationary phase should be pumped into the column. Following this step, begin pumping the mobile phase into the column, until the mobile phase drips out the other end (equilibrium). Then, administer the dissolved samples into the column. Using the detector, a time-based collection program is utilized to gather these separated components, as different components elute at different times based on its unity with the mobile