Question

How to analyze chemical composition?

Answer 1

Every organism is made up of the same chemical composition which has basic components like carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen present in them. There is an abundance of carbon components present in the living organism as compared to the non-living organism.

Complete answer:
The biomolecules are the molecules that are present in the living organism. These biomolecules have carbon, hydrogen, and water as their basic component. To analyze the chemical composition of the biomolecule we can place the sample in trichloroacetic acid. It forms a thick slurry on the reaction. This slurry when passed through cheesecloth then gets divided into two parts one which is acid-soluble and the other one which is acid insoluble. The acid-soluble one contains all the biomolecules present in the sample whereas, the acid-insoluble part has an absence of biomolecules in it. To determine the chemical composition of the unknown biomolecule we need to determine the mass of the hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen present in it. It will give us an idea about the possible structure of the unknown compound. Other specialized techniques are also used in the determination of the unknown molecule and it can be studied by using its closely associated compound. Techniques used in organic chemistry are very helpful in finding out about the chemical composition of the unknown biomolecule. These techniques range from spectroscopy to chromatographic techniques.

Note: The chemical composition of the unknown compound can be determined using techniques present in organic chemistry as they yield accurate results. We can also test the presence of biomolecules by treating the sample with trichloroacetic acid.