Monday, January 19, 2009

Peroxidase in Action

This is not the actual project, but just a quick qualitative run-through to test the efficacy of the horseradish peroxidase before going on to the actual chemistry. As with any organic extract, the concentration and potency of the enzyme may vary. Horseradish is out of season (I had to go to several specialty grocers before I found it), and it has to be fresh in order to work. I understand the it goes bad quite quickly. So, here's how we tested it on hydrogen peroxide:


I sliced some root section...



and sliced it again to fit into the test tube.




We placed it in a test tube with 10 ml of 30% hydrogen peroxide, and a drop of dish soap to sustain the oxygen we hoped it would produce.



Yay! It produced oxygen and water, slowly at first...



then, quite vigorously.

Tune in tomorrow, for the quantitative experiment (may include fire)!

3 comments:

Alice Gunther said...

That fancy-schmancy new kitchen has already been converted into a science lab! I am not the least bit surprised!

Stephanie said...

MacBeth, I keep checking back. Did you blow up your house?

Elizabeth Kathryn Gerold-Miller said...

I hereby bestow upon you "The Lovely Award".