Teaching Chromatography Using Virtual Laboratory Exercises

摘要

Chromatography is a deceptively simple subject to teach. While the basic concepts are readily demonstrated using filter paper, beaker, solvent, and marker pens, there are many complex nuances to both theory and practice that must be addressed in a thorough presentation. This is particularly evident when addressing such topics as method selection, development, and optimization, especially given the degree of sophistication required by contemporary analytical problems. The challenge for the instructor, then, is to present chromato-graphic theory and practice so that students can grasp the significance of these details with the same clarity imparted by the familiar demonstration mentioned above. Indeed, the ubiquitous nature of chromatography in research and industry suggests that the effective teaching of chromatography is an important part of undergraduate chemistry, a view backed up by the emphasis on chromatography in the proposed European curriculum (1) and U.S. initiatives (2, 3).