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Suppose you added egg white with ethyl alcohol and dishwashing soap. Would you predict if it would precipitate protein? Explain briefly

Question

Suppose you added egg white with ethyl alcohol and dishwashing soap. Would you predict if it would precipitate protein? Explain briefly

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Solution

Yes, it would precipitate protein. Here's why:

  1. Egg whites are rich in proteins. When you add them to a solution, they are in a dissolved state.

  2. Ethyl alcohol, also known as ethanol, is a solvent that can denature proteins. Denaturation is a process where the proteins lose their structure due to the disruption of weak bonds like hydrogen bonds, van der Waals interactions, and disulfide bridges. This is caused by the alcohol, which changes the solubility of the protein and makes it insoluble in water.

  3. Dishwashing soap is a surfactant, which means it can break down the lipid bilayers. However, in this case, it's not particularly relevant because we're dealing with proteins, not lipids.

  4. When the proteins become insoluble, they come out of the solution, forming a precipitate. This is why you would see a precipitate forming after adding egg white to ethyl alcohol and dishwashing soap.

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