Macromolecules Research Paper

Macromolecules are molecules that are large and essential for life. They consist of carbohydrates, nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids. Carbohydrates are molecules that are composed of monosaccharaides. Carbohydrates include cellulose, starches, and sugars. Two tests may be used to determine the presence of the carbohydrates. Those tests are the Benedict’s test and Lugol’s Iodine Test. Proteins are another category of macromolecules. The protein is a type of macromolecule that carry out many processes. To name a few, they play a major role in DNA replication and moving molecules within a cell. The lipid is another form of a macromolecule. These include fats and vitamins and many more. Lipids play a role in the structure of the cell membranes
and they store energy. Nucleic acids, which include DNA and RNA, play a vital role in the synthesis of proteins and in hereditary genes.
The Benedict's test is used to detect presence of sugar (a type of carbohydrate).
This test looks at the reducing sugars just like the Fehling’s test. The Benedict’s test can be seen as a variation of the Fehling’s test. Fehling’s test is not specific for aldehydes. The Benedict’s test uses a single solution of copper(II) citrate (Lancashire). A positive result shows a color change from blue to brown. The reason the Benedict's test works is that when reducing sugars are heated along with alkali, they get converted to enediols, which are reducing compounds. Enediols reduce the cupric ions that are present in the Benedict's reagent to cuprous ions. These ions get precipitated as insoluble red copper oxide. The color that is obtained by the precipitate gives a visual idea of the quantity of sugar present in the solution. The test is semi-quantitative. Quantitative means an amount or how much is in a solution. Therefore, the darker brown the solution is the more sugar is present in the solution. Colors can range from green, yellow, red, and orange-brown.