Gas Chromatographic Analysis of Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) in Nail Polish Remover Using an Open Platform Microcontrolled-Data Logger

This two-part exercise encompasses the construction of a microcontrolled data logger and a laboratory experiment utilizing the data logger to collect chromatographic data. The first exercise describes the assembly and testing of a data logger, which consists of a printed circuit board (PCB) and an mbed microcontrolled. After assembly, students use the data logger connected to a laptop computer to record chromatograms directly into a spreadsheet. The microcontrolled runs a simple C++ program that is loaded directly into flash memory, and the spreadsheet utilizes a simple program written in Excel’s built-in programming language (VBA). Supporting material, including instructional videos, should allow instructors with little experience in this technology to produce working data loggers without investing significant time or money. A laboratory exercise is also described for the analysis of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) in nail polish remover using a Gow-Mac gas chromatograph fitted with a thermal conductivity detector. The concentration of MEK in nail polish remover was determined to be 35% ± 2%. The lab is appropriate for quantitative analysis, instrumental methods or possibly a general chemistry course.