usingagaschromatograph.docVIP

Using a Gas Chromatograph:Identifying Unknown Compounds There are many different types of chromatography: paper, thin layer, liquid, high-pressure liquid (HPLC) and gas (GC). Chromatography is applied in many fields. Biochemists use liquid chromatography to separate proteins; chemists use GC and HPLC to identify organic compounds. Technicians use GC for drug tests, toxin screens and environmental analysis. Many forensic tests involve chromatography. All chromatography approaches operate under the same principles. There is a stationary phase and a mobile phase. The mobile phase travels along the stationary phase (in the column or on a plate) from a start point to an end point. Compounds can travel from the start to the end at different rates, depending on whether they tend to “stick” to the stationary phase or “float” in the mobile phase. Compounds stick to the stationary phase through dipole interactions, dispersion forces or ionic interactions. The Vernier Mini GC uses a metal column with the inside of the column coated with the stationary phase. A sample, consisting of one or more compounds, is injected onto the column and is pushed through by air, which acts as the mobile phase. Organic compounds flowing out of the chromatography column are seen as a peak on a chromatograph, as seen in Figure 1. The amount of time it takes for a compound to exit the column after it is injected is called the retention time. With a GC, a compound can be identified from a mixture of chemicals by its retention time. Figure 1: Sample gas chromatogram Several factors can affect the interaction of a compound with the GC. More volatile compounds (i.e., compounds with a lower boiling point) tend to move through the column faster because they are flowing in the mobile phase and interacting very little with the stationary phase. The functional groups present on the compound are also a factor. For example, alcohols may interact with a polar stationary phase more than esters because al