PUC’s Chemistry Department Receives Equipment Donations

The Department of Chemistry at Pacific Union College has added high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to their department and is also getting new balances for their labs.

Specifically, the HPLC is an Agilent 1260 with a diode array detector (DAD). This allows their department to analyze non-volatile mixtures of compounds that absorb light in the UV or visible spectrum. The HPLC does this by pumping a solvent at high pressure through a column; that separates the mixture of compounds. Then the compounds are measured by the DAD one at a time. They can use the information from the detector to determine the identity of the compound and its concentration. This is often used for pharmaceuticals, foods and beverages, biological samples, research mixtures of compounds, and many more. Due to the versatility of the instrument, many laboratories use this equipment, thus allowing PUC chemistry students to gain hands-on experience with the technique.

Professor of Chemistry Robert Wilson shared that he has already had a student work on a method to separate acetaminophen, caffeine, and aspirin, which are often found in over the counter headache medicine as a mixture. “The method is quick, allowing students to become familiar with the instrumentation and processing data before moving on to more complicated mixtures,” shares Wilson. He is exploring other mixtures to test and looking at some potential research that utilizes the HPLC.

The new equipment is a great addition to the chemistry lab and will enhance the learning of the students. “We thank the supporters of the chemistry department for donating the funds to purchase this research quality equipment.”