Photosynthesis

Prepare Chromatography Solution

1. Materials:

• Fresh kale: 10 g
• Fresh spinach: 10 g
• Carrot: 1/2
• Red bell pepper: 1/2
• Solvent mixture: Acetone:Petroleum ether (20:80)

1. Procedure:

• Extract a ground mixture of the fresh ingredients using the acetone:petroleum ether mixture.
• Dry the extract over anhydrous sodium sulfate or anhydrous magnesium sulfate.
• Reduce the volume of the solution under a stream of air.

Prepare Chromatography Column

1. Column Setup:

• Place a cotton plug at the end of a chromatography column.
• Dampen the cotton plug with pet ether.
• Pour a 2 cm layer of sand over the cotton plug.

1. Fill the Column:

• Make a slurry of silica and pet ether.
• Slowly fill the column with the silica slurry, ensuring no air bubbles are present.
• Top the slurry with another 2 cm layer of sand.

1. Elution:

• Drain pet ether until about 1 cm covers the sand on top.
• Using a Pasteur pipette, add the prepared mixture to the top of the column, trying to evenly disperse the layer of solution to achieve nice bands.
• Elute first with acetone for the green bands, then with pet ether for the yellow bands.