The purpose of this lab is to separate the components of Kool-Aid with chromatography. Chromatography is separation method that uses the differences in the behavior of substances between a mobile phase and a stationary phase which separates the components of the mixture. The mixture flows through the stationary phase at different speeds, so the stationary phase retains some of the components of the mixture more than others. If the interactions with the substrate to the stationary phase and mobile phase have a difference, then the components of the mixture will separate.

     In this lab, the components of grape Kool-Aid, FD&C Blue and FD&C Red were being separated. The column used was a C18 Sep-Pack chromatography column which contains a silica matrix with a non polar substrate that has C18 hydrocarbon bonded to the silica. The components with the least polarity will be retained in the column and the components with the most polarity will bind least to the C18. The most polar component will come through the column first, and the least polar component will come through the column last.