We go through our day scurrying around and if we're lucky, stuff our face and bellies a few times a day to power us through. Imagine if all the energy we needed came to us via the warm rays of the sun. We could go all day and power down in the evening probably not so good if you live in Alaska, but go with me on this. What would we look like, would we have skin tones in different shades of green, yellow and red like those found in plants?? Leaf pigment content can provide valuable insight into the actual performance and function of photosynthesis and the shades of green can denote the concentration of chlorophyll (green pigment) and carotenoids (yellow pigment). I have been working for a while on this very question. What is the relationship between the pigment of different (green) vegetables and the chlorophyll content? My hypothesis is simple, the darker the vegetable leafs, the higher the concentration of chlorophyll.
This experiment is the plant equivalent of DNA extraction. It’s called TLC (thin layer chromatography) and it is quite interesting. I started with 4 different types of green leafy vegetables: spinach, turnip greens, red (or rainbow) chard and cabbage. I weighed each sample and created an individual slurry of each veggie using Acetone and NaOH, which I kept on ice. As some of you may have noticed, I've been working in the dark, this is because once the chlorophyll has been extracted from its housing (ie. leaf) it becomes very light sensitive and my results can be altered if it is exposed to light. After a series of vortex and centrifuges, my slushy mixture separates and I'm able to extract the liquid chlorophyll and apply it to my TLC plates.
I don't want to give it all away so you’re going to have to wait till next week to see the second half of my experiment. :o)
Have a great weekend interns!
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