Acetaminophen And Excedrin Report

As previously stated, the following are the calculated RF values for each plate, Plate 1: Acetaminophen; Acetaminophen (Isolated)- 4.0/6.9= 0.57, Acetaminophen (Pure)- 3.8/6.9=0.55, Excedrin- 4.2/6.9=0.61 Plate 2: Caffeine; Caffeine (Isolated)- 1.9/6.8=0.28, Caffeine (Pure)- 0.8/6.8=0.12, Excedrin-4.0/6.8=0.59 and Plate 3: Aspirin; Aspirin (Isolated)-6.2/7.5=0.83, Aspirin (Pure)-6.2/7.5=0.83, Excedrin-6.8/7.5=0.9. The yield of each isolated analgesic was not calculated. The Rf values of the isolated acetaminophen, pure acetaminophen and Excedrin were all within 0.06. This is most likely due to the contamination of the TLC plate with Excedrin. During plating, drops of the Excedrin solution may have been introduced to the plate. Also, the capillary tube may have been contaminated. This lead to nearly identical marking on the TLC plate and similar Rf values. Due to this, it is not possible to conclude whether or not acetaminophen was separated from the sample of Excedrin. The Rf value of the pure isolated caffeine was 0.28. This was 0.16 higher than the Rf value of the pure caffeine. Although the value of the isolated caffeine is nearly double that of the pure caffeine, it appears that caffeine was separated from Excedrin, but the sample was not pure. It still had other analgesics present. This is concluded from the location

Based on the assumed contamination of the TLC plate and or capillary tube, it is not possible to tell whether acetaminophen was successfully separated from the Excedrin powder. The Rf values of isolated aspirin and pure aspirin were the same. This demonstrates that the aspirin was successfully separated and is relatively pure. The isolated caffeine sample had a higher Rf value but when viewed under UV light, the markings of isolated caffeine were within the bounds of the pure caffeine, leading to the conclusion that while isolated the caffeine sample was note