Simulation · Biology · Class 11
Acid-soluble and acid-insoluble fractions
From the lesson Biomacromolecules in Biomolecules. Change the values and watch what happens.
Acid-soluble and acid-insoluble fractionsBiology · Class 11
The idea behind it
NCERT §9.3
- Every compound in the acid-soluble pool has a molecular weight between 18 and about 800 daltons (Da).
- The acid-insoluble fraction holds only four kinds of organic compound: proteins, nucleic acids, polysaccharides and lipids. Except for lipids, these have molecular weights of ten thousand Da and more.
- Biomolecules therefore fall into two groups: micromolecules (or simply biomolecules), under one thousand Da, and macromolecules (biomacromolecules), found in the acid-insoluble fraction.
- Apart from lipids, the molecules of the insoluble fraction are polymers.
- Lipids, whose molecular weights do not go beyond 800 Da, still come down in the insoluble fraction. Grinding breaks the cell membrane and other membranes into pieces that form water-insoluble vesicles, and these separate out with the insoluble pellet. Lipids are not strictly macromolecules.
- The acid-soluble pool roughly represents the composition of the cytoplasm; the macromolecules of the cytoplasm and organelles form the acid-insoluble fraction. Together they are the whole chemical make-up of a tissue.
- Water is the most abundant chemical in living organisms. Average share of total cell mass: water 70–90%, proteins 10–15%, nucleic acids 5–7%, carbohydrates 3%, lipids 2%, ions 1%.