pringles Posted February 22, 2017 Report Share Posted February 22, 2017 So you all probably know the method of extracting chlorophyll from leaves using ethanol, but I don't understand why this works. What effect does the alcohol have on the cell membrane? I've done a lot of research on this, but there doesn't seem to be a concrete answer. What I've gotten so far: - The alcohol molecule sits inside the phospholipid bilayer and disrupts the ordering of the phospholipids - Lipids (although I don't know which lipids they're referring to) dissolve in the alcohol, creating holes in the membrane. Also, if the lipids (i'm assuming the hydrocarbon tails) dissolve, then the alcohol wouldn't still be sitting in the bilayer, would it? - Something about osmotic effect, but does this affect the release of chlorophyll? - The alcohol denatures the membrane proteins, creating more holes in the membrane Are any of these true? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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