Lab Report on TLC analisys of Analgestic Drugs Essay examples

TLC Analysis of Analgesic Drugs Introduction In this experiment, thin-layer chromatography (TLC) was used to determine the composition of various over-the-counter (OTC) analgesics: Anacin, Bufferin, Excedrin, and Tylenol. The TLC plates were first viewed under ultraviolet (UV) light and then treated with iodine vapor in order to visualize the spotting. Experiment Scheme Initially, sixteen capillary micropipets were created in order to spot the TLC plates. Two TLC plates were then obtained and marked with pencil for spotting. A line was drawn 1 cm from the bottom of each plate, and five small, evenly spaced marks were made along those lines (see Figure 1). Each mark indicated where a substance would be spotted. All compounds†¦show more content†¦They were first viewed under UV light, where any spots were circled with a pencil. They were then placed in a jar with iodine where some spots developed a brownish color. Figure 6 shows approximately what each plate looked like after it was viewed. Any circles with X’s were ones that developed the brownish color after exposure to the iodine. Figure 6. Developed TLC Plates The Rf values were calculated based on these observations. They are shown in Table 2. Table 2. Rf Values Name Distance from Base to Center of Spot (cm) à · Distance from Base to Sovlent Front (cm) = Rf Value acetaminophen 4.0 à · 5.5 = .73 aspirin 4.7 à · 5.5 = .85 caffeine 2.4 à · 5.5 = .44 salicylamide 4.6 à · 5.5 = .84 Anacin 2.6 à · 5.8 = .45 Bufferin 5.0 à · 5.8 = .86 Excedrin 2.6 à · 5.8 = .45 4.3 à · 5.8 = .74 Tylenol 4.3 à · 5.8 = .74 Discussion This experiment was designed to determine which analgesic compounds common OTC drugs contained. According to research done after the experiment, the testing successfully determined which compounds the sample drugs contained. The results showed that Tylenol contains acetaminophen, Excedrin contains caffeine and acetaminophen, Anacin contains caffeine, and Bufferin most likely contains