Day1 In Laboratory

Day 1

Morning
Observed the material separation process conducted by a postgraduate student.
The original sample was fungal mycelia cultured by the student, soaked in ethanol, followed by organic separation.

1. The column contained two layers: the upper layer consisted of HP20 resin (with numerous pore sizes) for adsorbing the liquid sample, while the lower layer (also HP20 resin) aided in separation.
Ethanol (impure) was poured into the column, and pressure was applied to repeatedly "elute" and dissolve the sample.
Note: When adding ethanol, it should be poured along the funnel wall to prevent creating pits in the resin particles.
2. The eluted liquid was transferred to a spherical instrument (rotary evaporator), where ethanol was vaporized (by reducing pressure to lower the boiling point) and then condensed for separate collection and recycling.
If the purity of the ethanol reached 100%, it indicated complete dissolution of the sample (measured using an alcohol meter, which operates on the principle of measuring ethanol density), and no further "elution" was required.
After a certain period of rotation, only a small amount of deeply colored liquid remained in the flask.
3. This liquid was transferred to a beaker and placed in front of a fan to further evaporate the ethanol.

The objective of the experiment was to isolate pure compounds from the liquid sample and identify the components present in the original sample.

Afternoon
Used an ultrasonic homogenizer to mix methanol uniformly (as part of the sample was filtered yesterday and another part today).
The prepared samples in vials were then loaded into an automated instrument. This instrument, controlled via computer, withdraws a amount of sample and mixes it with methanol. The computer then detects and analyzes the mixture, generating a chromatogram. The number of peaks in the chromatogram indicates the number of compounds present (the instrument itself functions similarly to a chromatographic column).
Note: Participated in the vial preparation process, which involved dissolving the sample in methanol and injecting it into small vials.