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How Can Chromatography Be Used To Identify Amino Acids In Different Leaves?

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Chemistry Internal Assessment

An Investigation into the Effects of Types of Leaves on Rf Values and Their Corresponding Amino Acids gwy287 Chemistry HL
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Personal Engagement Statement
Nature is a fascinating part of this world and discovering the inner parts makes it ever more interesting. Plants function through photosynthesis and because of proteins. These proteins are created by amino acids. Since I find nature so interesting, finding the different amino acids in various types of leaves will begin to highlight the many intricacies of plant life.

Exploration
Research Question:
How can chromatography be used to identify amino acids in different leaves?
Independent Variable: Nandina domestica (heavenly bamboo), Buxus sempervirens (boxwood), Stachys byzantina (lamb’s ear), Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion), and Tulipa gesneriana (garden tulip) leaves.
Dependent Variable: RF values and the …show more content…

It is conducted by adding an unknown substance to a piece of chromatography paper and placing it in a solvent. The solvent will separate the pigments in the substance, revealing its identity. Chromatography was first used by Russian scientist Mikhail Tsvet to separate the pigments in different plants (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology). Amino acids are proteins present in every cell and are soluble in water. The more soluble the amino acids are, the farther up the chromatography paper they travel, and the less soluble, the shorter distance they travel. To determine the specific amino acids present, the travel distances are calculated to find the retention factors (Rf). Rfvalues are found by using the equation Rf= LdL0, where Ld represents the distance travelled and L0 is the starting point of the amino acid solution. The Rf values of amino acids are constant under standard conditions and can be found here (Bylikin, Horner, Murphy, & Tarcy,

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