JCE Online Journal of Chemical EducationDivision of Chemical Education, American Chemical SocietyAmerican Chemical Society
 | Subscriptions  | Software Orders  | Support  | Contributors  | Advertisers  | 

JCE Print

JCE Digital Library

JCE Software

Only@JCE Online

About JCE


  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1996  > September  >
In The Laboratory
The Use of a "Qual" Centrifuge for Greatly Simplifying and Speeding the Study of Milk
Quentin R. Petersen
Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858
Cover
September 1996
Vol. 73 No. 9
p. 848

Abstract
Laboratory study of the constituents of milk is almost always slowed by difficult separation of relatively large amounts of curd and whey by filtration. In the two-and-one-half hour experiment described, only 5 mL of skim milk is used and the curd is separated from the whey by using a simple "qual" centrifuge. Casein and serum proteins are quickly isolated as solids in essentially-quantitative yields in a procedure utilizing only two 13 x 100 mm test tubes and a 50 mL beaker along with the centrifuge and a hotplate. Protein solutions are prepared in the test tubes in which they were isolated and subjected to a variety of classical tests, the most dramatic of which is the Hopkins-Cole test which shows the presence of tryptophan in casein and its absence in serum protein. An essentially-quantitative yield of solid lactose is obtained by evaporation of the supernatant liquid obtained from the serum protein centrifugation. A lactose solution is subjected to Benedict's and Barfoed's tests, identifying it as a disaccharide. Sufficient time is available to compare the fat and enzyme contents of raw milk and skim milk.
More Information
*  Citation
J. Chem. Educ. 1996 73 848.
*  Keywords
*  History
Created:
Last Updated:
September 21, 1999
February 21, 2006
  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1996 > September > Page 848


Subscriptions

JCE HS CLIC

Our Secondary School editors work hard to distill all the JCE materials to produce a fraction of particular interest to high school teachers. We call it CLIC.


Contributions Welcome
JCE welcomes your submission

Advertisers
In recent years we have worked hard to better match our advertisers with our readers. When shopping for chemistry education materials, visit our advertisers' WWW sites first.

Be An Ambassador
Take JCE along on your outreach missions. Copies of the Journal, guest access to JCE Online, our publications catalog, and more are available for your participants.