Explanation of Chemical Principle of “Experiment on Extraction and Separation of Chloroplast Pigment”
LI Fang1, ZHAO Wei-Guang2**
1. National Demonstration Center for Experimental Chemistry Education, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071,China; 2. State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
Abstract Chloroplast pigment extraction and separation experiment is a classic biology experiment in senior high school in China. The explanation of the principle of pigment separation in the textbook is inconsistent with the experiment that “the pigments in green leaves can be dissolved in the chromatographic solution, but the solubility of different pigments is different. Those with high solubility diffuse quickly with the chromatographic solution on the filter paper, and vice versa”. The explanation in the textbook is the principle of distribution chromatography, but the author believes that it is more reasonable to explain the experimental content with the principle of adsorption chromatography. This paper introduces the origin of pigment separation and chromatography technology, and makes an in-depth discussion on the separation principle of pigment in chloroplast by using the knowledge of biology and chemistry in senior high school, which will help teachers and students master the principle of pigment separation and deepen the understanding of relevant knowledge.
LI Fang, ZHAO Wei-Guang. Explanation of Chemical Principle of “Experiment on Extraction and Separation of Chloroplast Pigment”[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Education, 2023, 44(5): 115-119.
