Amino Acids Lab

Amino acids are important building blocks; they play an essential role in the formation of proteins and as intermediates in metabolism. Amino acids can serve as cell signaling molecules and can regulate gene expression. An optimal amount of amino acids is essential for health. There are over 500 amino acids, however only 20 are commonly found. Amino acids all have an amine functional group and a carboxylic acid functional group. They differentiate from each other in their side chains. Only 10 of the 20 essential amino acids are produced in the body. The amino acids that are produced in the body include: alanine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, proline, serine and tyrosine. The other 10 amino acids must be supplied through food. These 10 amino acids are referred to as essential amino acids and are: arginine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine1. The amino acids used in this
A stationary phase is on the plate; in this lab silica was used. A small amount of the sample being analyzed is spotted onto the bottom of the plate. A small amount of solvent with the appropriate polarity is put in container. This is called the eluent. The plate is placed upright in the container, and solvent will move up the plate via capillary motion. The samples will be moved up the plate, and how far they travel on the plate depends on the polarity of the samples. Because silica is a polar substance, nonpolar substances will travel the most since they interact the least with the stationary phase. The plate can then be analyzed to determine the components of a sample. TLC can be analyzed through calculating the Rf factor, which is a ratio of a sample’s distance traveled to the solvent’s distance traveled. The Rf value can be used to identify compounds, and to determine polarity relative to other