Lab Report 5_CH 237-016

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University of Alabama *

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Chemistry

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Dec 6, 2023

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Patti Smith CH 237-016 TA: Deblina Bhowmick 3/2/23 Experiment 5: Thin Layer Chromatography Analysis of Drug Compounds I. Introduction This lab addresses the composition of various unknown analgesic drugs. There are four standard components to this type of mixture: aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and caffeine. Each of these compounds contain unique properties that can provide information about unknown compounds when compared side by side. Through these comparisons, three unknown drugs will be identified per the goal of this experiment. According to the literature, the unknowns may be as follows: Advil (200mg Ibuprofen), Anacin (400mg Aspirin, 32mg Caffeine), Aspirin (325mg Aspirin), Excedrin (250mg Aspirin, 250mg Acetaminophen, 65mg Caffeine), or Tylenol (325mg Acetaminophen). In order to compare the standards to the unknowns and determine which drugs are being tested, a variety of techniques are used. A small spot of each solution (three unknowns and the four standards) is added in its own section to the starting line of a silica gel thin layer chromatography (TLC) plate with a fluorescent indicator. The TLC plate is developed in 200:1 ethylacetate/acetic acid and then allowed to dry. Once dry, short-wavelength (254nm) UV light is used to identify the centers of intensity for each spot. These intensity centers are compared so as to identify each component. Each standard shows a unique spot placement on and the unknowns reflect this with their component(s). II. Results R f (aspirin): 2.4cm/2.9cm = 0.83 R f (acetaminophen): 1.7cm/2.9cm = 0.59 R f (ibuprofen): 2.6cm/2.9cm = 0.90 R f (caffeine): 0.6cm/2.9cm = 0.21 R f (unknown 1) 1 st spot: 0.5cm/2.9cm = 0.17 2 nd spot: 2.1cm/2.9cm = 0.72 R f (unknown 2) 1 st spot: 0.6cm/2.9cm = 0.21 2 nd spot: 1.7cm/2.9cm = 0.59 3 rd spot: 2.1cm/2.9cm = 0.72 R f (unknown 3): 2.5cm/2.9cm = 0.86
III. Discussion A TLC was run in order to identify the presence of various standard active ingredients in three unknown samples. Comparisons are made between the unknowns and standards through the calculated R f values. The R f values and molecular structures communicate a great deal about each standard. It can be assumed that of the four standards caffeine is by far the most polar, followed by acetaminophen, aspirin, and ibuprofen. Compounds that are highly polar are highly retained in the TLC which is shown by a low R f value, such as that of caffeine (0.21). The molecular structure of caffeine contains a good amount of both nitrogen atoms and carboxylate groups, which are more polar than carbon and pull electrons closer through lone pairs. Caffeine is also bicyclic, which can increase polarity. Acetaminophen and aspirin contain a similar number of polar atoms to each other, but less than caffeine, which could explain some of the similarities and differences in polarity. The differences mainly come in the presence of a benzene ring in acetaminophen and aspirin, while there is not one present in caffeine. The lone pairs of nitrogen and electronegative hydroxyl and carbonyl groups of acetaminophen make it more polar than the ester of aspirin. Ibuprofen is much less polar than any of the other standards because it lacks multiple polar functional groups. The observed R f values for the unknown components are not exactly the same as the standards, but they are comparable enough to infer. For example, the first spot of unknown 1 had an R f value of 0.17 which is slightly lower than the caffeine standard (0.21). However, these two values are close enough to each other that it can be assumed that the unknown is caffeine. The discrepancies between the two values are likely due to some spots overlapping during the spotting process as some spots were larger than desired. Overlaps could cause the TLC to appear as if other compounds were in a row that they were not or slightly affect the solutions polarity. Both could result in the TLC being less accurate. Other than the possibility of initial overlap, there were not many noticeable errors as the solvent did not reach the start line and wash away any spots.
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