Pro Forma Laboratory Report

Name: Soundarya Dasaramoole Date: 23/02/2023

Title of Practical: Chromatography of Amino Acids

Aim: To know which amino acid is present and to know which one is more polar or non-
polar when added into a solution using the chromatography technique.

Equipment/Chemicals
 1 x Unknown Mixture
 1 x Chromatography paper
 4 x Capillary tube
 1 x paper clip
 1 x ruler
 1 x pencil
 1 x solution containing 80% of methanol, 10% of water and 10% of ammonia

Results (Raw Data/Observations) Draw a labelled diagram of chromatography paper

The above results show the separation of the amino acids using the chromatography
paper. The x marks the solution and the acid that was placed in the baseline.

The paper is labelled as:

MI = unknown mixture.
AS = Aspartic acid
LE = Leucine acid
LY = Lysine
Calculations: Calculate Rf values for every spot to compare

Rf value = distance travelled by the substance (y)/distance travelled by the solvent front (x)
Name Spot no. X (cm) Y (cm) Rf value (Y/X) (cm)
Unknown 1 6.4 1.5 0.23
Mixture 2 6.4 4.5 0.7
Aspartic acid 1 6.4 1.5 0.23
Leucine acid 1 6.4 4 0.63
Lysine acid 1 6.4 2.8 0.44

Conclusions
In conclusion, the acid present in the unknown mixture was Aspartic and Leucine as shown
above in the chromatography paper. The amino acids Leucine travelled the furthest
showing it is the least polar and Aspartic acid being the most polar as travelled very near to
the base line. Lysine is also polar as only traveled halfway through to the base line.

Discussion Including Sources of Error & structures of the amino acids

 Repeating the procedure 3 times to get an average and reliable results.

 Spotting less amount of volume or drop of the amino acid on the x mark on the
base line of the chromatography paper to achieve a good readable size as spots
can get too big and could have an inaccurate reading when calculating the Rf
value.
 To have the same color of the capillary tube and the solution to avoid any
contamination spotting different amino acids on a paper.