NOTE 1 The following procedure can be used to clean the round bottom flasks used in this experiment. The product is not soluble in water and not easily dissolved in cold organic solvents. To remove the remaining traces of <strong>crude</strong> product, you will need to use soap and HOT water (scrub with a brush). Then use water to rinse out all of the soap. To remove the water from the flask, rinse it with two small portions (2–3 mL) of acetone by placing the tip of the acetone squeeze bottle in the neck of the flask and allowing the acetone to run down the inside. Rotating the flask while adding the acetone will help rinse any water droplets off the side of the flask. The flask can be swirled then the acetone poured out into the sink. Let the flask air dry for a few moments and If the flask is still not dry, repeat the above procedure. Drawing air through the glassware, by means of the aspirator or by holding the piece of glassware over the window vent, will speed the drying process. Note that each "wash" should use no more than 3 mL of acetone. Using excess acetone does not dry the equipment any better and is wasteful. NOTE 2 When you isolate a product from a natural source, you should look up the expected percentage and compare it to the experimental percentage. The expected percentage can be found in a number of places. For example, you might try the MERCK index. This book is available in the <strong>Chemistry</strong> Help Center (C-2012). This book contains information about chemicals, natural products, plant extracts, etc. - 6 - To find information about the expected yield of <strong>crude</strong> <strong>trimyristin</strong> from nutmeg, you should look up the listing for "nutmeg" , not the listing for "<strong>trimyristin</strong>". If you look up "<strong>trimyristin</strong>", it will give you information about the compound, <strong>trimyristin</strong>. However, since <strong>trimyristin</strong> can be isolated from more than one source, this listing will have nothing about the <strong>trimyristin</strong> content in nutmeg. If you look up the listing for "nutmeg" in the cross index, you will find that it is actually listed under its Latin name. This listing will tell you that there are two kinds of oils found in nutmeg (fixed oil and volatile oil) and the percentage of each is also given. You must then look up the two kinds of "oil of nutmeg" to determine which one contains the <strong>trimyristin</strong>. Note that the method used to extract the oils from nutmeg in this experiment, will likely extract both the fixed and volatile oils. Thus the expected yield of product, which in this case is very impure <strong>trimyristin</strong>, will be the total of the fixed and volatile oils. The information can also be obtained by consulting a book dealing with spices or by using the internet. Note that for any natural product, the expected percent recovery will not be given as a single value, but as a range of values.
- 7 - N.B. Be sure to record a reference for where the data was found. This should include the title of the book, the edition and the page number (or the address if the internet was used).
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