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Organic Solvents: Effects on Membrane Permeability Cheat Sheet by

Study of effect of organic solvent concentrations on membrane permeability ​

Objective

To study the effect of alcohol on membrane permea­bility.

Background

Beetroots are root vegetables that appear red because the vacuoles in their cells contain a water soluble red pigment called betalain. ​These pigment molecules are too large to pass through cell membra­nes.​ The effect of alcohol on membranes can be invest­igated

Materials

● Eye protec­tion​
● Distilled water​
● Syringe​
● Beetroot​
● Cork borer​
● Ruler​
● White tile​
● Knife​
● 10 cm3 syringe​
● Pipette​
● Test tubes​
● Labels or pens for labelling​
● Forceps​
● Ethanol (at 10%, 20%, 30% 40% concen­tra­tions)

Procedure

1. Cut seven uniform cylinders of beet using a cork borer with a 5-mm inside diameter.
2. Trim each cylinder to exactly 15 mm in length. All the cylinders must be the same size.
3. Place these cylinders of beet tissue in a beaker and rinse them with tap water for 2 min to wash betacyanin from the injured cells on the surface. Be sure that all of the cylinders are the same size. Discard the coloured rinse-­water.
4. Place one of the seven beet sections into each of five dry test tubes. Do not crush, stab, or otherwise damage the cylinders when moving them to the test tubes.​
5. Label the tubes 1–6 and write the organi­c-s­olvent treatment on each tube as listed in observ­ation table.
6. Add 10.0 mL of the approp­riate solvent (see table) to each of the tubes.
7. Keep all test tubes at room temper­ature for 20 min and shake them occasi­onally. Then remove and discard the beet sections and measure the extent of membrane damage.
8. Quantify the relative colour of each solution between 0 (colou­rless) and 10 (darkest red). If colour standards are available in the lab, use them to determine relative values for the colours of your samples.
9. Draw a labelled diagram / paste photo of experi­mental set up.
 

Observ­ation Table

Test Tube No.
Content in the tube/ Treatment
Volume of Ethanol (ml)
Volume of Water (ml)
 
Colour Intensity
1
Distilled Water
0
10
Keep All the
Colourless
2
20% Ethanol ​
2
8
Test Tubes
-----
3
40% Ethanol ​
4
6
at room
-----
4
60% Ethanol ​
6
4
temper­ature
-----
5
80% Ethanol ​
8
2
for 20 min
-----
6
100% Ethanol ​
10
0
and shake occasi­onally. them
-----

Result

The solvent stress damages the membranes, and betacyanin will leak through the tonoplast and plasma membrane. ​

This leakage from the stressed beet will colour the surrou­nding water red. Thus, maximum membrane damage results in the maximum intensity of colour.​
   
 

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