Thin Layer Chromatography Lab Report

In this lab, Thin Layer Chromatography was used to identify the components of a certain drug. To do this, the compound in question, Motrin was tested against six standards in three different solvents. The three solvent were hexanes, ethyl acetate, and 75% ethyl acetate and 25% hexane; the solution of 75% ethyl acetate and 25% hexane was determined to be the best solvent. This is due to the larger variance in RF values. The six standards that Motrin was tested against were Aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, naproxen sodium, caffeine and a caffeine and ibuprofen mixture. To determine which standard was present in the chosen drug, the retention factors, or RF, were calculated. A UV light was also used to see the distance each sample traveled in

A source of error in this lab could have resulted from the use of a different solvent at this point. The other solvents resulted in a lower range of retention factors, therefore making it harder to determine which one were similar and present in the drug. The use of 75% ethyl acetate and 25% hexane allows for the RF values to be distinguishable and conclusions can be made. The conclusion made about Motrin was that it consisted of Ibuprofen. This was determined by the RF values on the third TLC plate. The retention factor of Motrin was closest to Ibuprofen. The values for these two were 0.64 and 0.65. The caffeine and ibuprofen mixture was also close at 0.66 but since there was a second value of 0.08, this mixture is not in Motrin. Also, Aspirin was found not to be in Motrin based on the retention factor of 0.60. The RF values in this lab were imperative to figuring out what the drug consisted of, so if the measurements or calculation were off, identification may have not been possible. If measurements were off, the retention factors would not be correct, therefore resulting in an error and wrong conclusion about the drug in