Forensic testing. Chromatography is also used to help catch criminals. In line with programmes like CSI, gas chromatography is used to analyse blood and cloth samples, helping to identify criminals and bring them to justice.

In forensics, gas chromatography is used to determine if a deceased person has taken any alcohol or drugs prior to death, as well as determining if they had been poisoned. Samples from the crime scene such as blood and fibers can also be analyzed with gas chromatography to aid the investigation.

Chromatography is a method for analyzing mixtures by separating them into the chemicals from which they are made. It can be used to separate mixtures like ink, blood, gasoline, and lipstick. In ink chromatography, you are separating the colored pigments that make up the color of the pen.

Paper chromatography is a method for separating dissolved substances from one another. It is often used when the dissolved substances are coloured, such as inks, food colourings and plant dyes.

Chlorophyll a is slightly soluble in a 3:1:1 mixture of petroleum ether, acetone, and water. Carotenoids are very soluble in this solvent system. These solubility differences will allow the separation of chlorophyll a from the carotenoids and chlorophyll b on a paper chromatogram.

As shown in detail in the absorption spectra, chlorophyll absorbs light in the red (long wavelength) and the blue (short wavelength) regions of the visible light spectrum. Green light is not absorbed but reflected, making the plant appear green. Chlorophyll is found in the chloroplasts of plants.

Readily Available Solvents for Paper Chromatography

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Chlorophyll’s job in a plant is to absorb light—usually sunlight. The energy absorbed from light is transferred to two kinds of energy-storing molecules. Through photosynthesis, the plant uses the stored energy to convert carbon dioxide (absorbed from the air) and water into glucose, a type of sugar.

Chlorophyll a is the most abundant form in leaves and has a light green colour. Chlorophyll b absorbs more of the shorter, blue wavelengths of sunlight, giving it a darker shade of green. It is known as an accessory pigment because its role is to pass light energy to chlorophyll a to complete the photosynthesis.

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Chlorophyll A is the most important pigment in photosynthesis, which serves as the primary electron donor in the electron transport chain of photosynthesis. The green pigment which is responsible for collecting light energy and passing into chlorophyll A during photosynthesis is called chlorophyll B.

When there is little light available, plants produce more chlorophyll b than chlorophyll a to increase its photosynthetic ability. This is necessary because chlorophyll a molecules capture a limited wavelength so accessory pigments like chlorophyll b are needed to aid in the capture of a wider range of light.

Chlorophyll a reflects green and yellow-green wavelengths.

Chlorophyll a absorbs violet and orange light the most. Chlorophyll b absorbs mostly blue and yellow light. They both also absorb light of other wavelengths with less intensity.

Chlorophyll a absorbs light in the blue-violet region, chlorophyll b absorbs red-blue light, and both a and b reflect green light (which is why chlorophyll appears green).

Chlorophyll’s role is to absorb light for photosynthesis. There are two main types of chlorophyll: A and B. Chlorophyll A’s central role is as an electron donor in the electron transport chain. Chlorophyll B’s role is to give organisms the ability to absorb higher frequency blue light for use in photosynthesis.

Difference Between Chlorophyll A and B

Xanthophylls are yellow-brown pigments that absorb blue light.