Acetone as an Alternative to Ethyl Acetate in Flash Chromatography

Ethyl acetate is one of the most commonly used solvents in flash chromatography. It is readily available and easy to remove by rotary evaporation. However, ethyl acetate adsorbs in the wavelength range of 200 to 235 nm, a region where many compounds also absorb UV light. In this application note, acetone is presented as an alternative to ethyl acetate for these compounds. Acetone is slightly more polar than ethyl acetate allowing for faster elution of some compounds.