Effective and inexpensive HPLC analogue for first-year students: buret chromatography of food dyes in drinks
Files
Accepted manuscript
Date
2019-03-04
Authors
Abrams, Binyomin
Stankus, Brian
Rosemary, White
Version
Accepted manuscript
OA Version
Citation
Binyomin Abrams, Brian Stankus, White Rosemary. 2019. "Effective and Inexpensive HPLC Analogue for First-Year Students: Buret Chromatography of Food Dyes in Drinks." Journal of Chemical Education, Volume 96, pp. 739 - 744 (5). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00665
Abstract
Chromatography is a ubiquitous technique in analytical chemistry, and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is the industry standard for quantitation of components in solution mixtures. However, demonstrating the principles of liquid chromatography to undergraduates via HPLC-based experiments often proves ineffective because of the fully automated nature of modern HPLC units. This paper details a novel laboratory exercise that is accessible to students in first-year chemistry and high school and helps to demonstrate and demystify the principles involved in HPLC. Using only common and inexpensive laboratory equipment found in most general-chemistry laboratories (burets and benchtop spectrophotometers), students are able to replicate results that are equivalent to those obtained on research-grade HPLC instruments, while gaining valuable insight into chromatography principles.