Chemistry · Virtual lab
Column Chromatography
Pack an alumina column, load a leaf pigment extract, and separate carotene from the chlorophylls with a solvent gradient.
Background
Column chromatography is a preparative separation technique in which a mixture is passed through a column packed with an adsorbent (such as alumina or silica gel). Different components adsorb to the stationary phase with different strengths and are eluted at different rates by the mobile phase (solvent).
The technique is widely used for purifying compounds from complex mixtures. By gradually increasing the solvent polarity (a solvent gradient), components are released from the column in order of increasing polarity and collected in separate fractions.
In this virtual lab you pack an alumina column, load a leaf pigment extract, elute with a solvent gradient, and collect the separated fractions, watching the coloured bands of carotene and chlorophylls move down the column in real time.
What you will learn
- Pack a chromatography column with alumina adsorbent
- Load a plant pigment extract onto the column
- Elute components using a solvent gradient
- Collect and identify separated fractions
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Related experiments
- Paper Chromatography: Separate pigments from spinach leaves and flowers and determine their Rf values.
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