Biological Laboratory Reagents
- Color Reaction and Staining Reagents:
- Fehling’s reagent is used to detect reducing sugars; it reacts with reducing sugars under boiling water bath conditions to form a brick-red precipitate.
- Biuret reagent is used for protein detection; it reacts with proteins in an alkaline environment to show a purple color.
- Sudan Ⅲ or Sudan Ⅳ is used to detect fats, turning fats orange-red or red respectively.
- Iodine solution is used for starch detection; it reacts with starch to exhibit a blue color.
- Cell Observation Reagents:
- Gentian violet or acetic carmine solution is used to observe mitosis in root tip meristem cells, staining chromosomes.
- Janus green B is a vital dye used to observe mitochondria under a high-power microscope, making mitochondria appear blue-green.
- Trypan blue is used to identify dead cells, which will be stained blue.
- Others:
- 30% sucrose solution is used in the experiment of plant cell plasmolysis and restoration, causing plant cells to lose water and undergo plasmolysis.
- 35% FeCl₃is used to compare the decomposition of catalase under different conditions, serving as an inorganic catalyst for hydrogen peroxide decomposition.
Chemical Laboratory Reagents
- Acids: Such as hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, etc., which are used to adjust the pH of solutions, participate in chemical reactions, etc. For example, hydrochloric acid can react with calcium carbonate to produce carbon dioxide, and sulfuric acid can be used for rust removal of metals.
- Bases: Such as sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, etc., which are often used to adjust the pH of solutions, neutralize acidic substances, etc. For example, sodium hydroxide can be used to absorb carbon dioxide in the air.
- Salts: Such as sodium chloride, sodium carbonate, copper sulfate, etc., which can be used to prepare solutions, conduct chemical reactions, etc. For example, sodium chloride solution can be used to maintain cell morphology, and copper sulfate solution can be used to detect reducing sugars.
- Organic Solvents: Such as ethanol, methanol, acetone, etc., which are used to dissolve organic substances, extract and separate organic components, etc. For example, ethanol can be used to extract pigments from plants, and acetone can be used to dissolve proteins.
Other Laboratory Reagents
- Spectrally Pure Reagents: They have the characteristics of low ultraviolet absorption, low infrared absorption, and low impurity content, and are suitable for ultraviolet and infrared spectral analysis.
- NMR Solvents: Deuterated solvents are widely used in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to analyze the molecular structure of organic compounds.
- Primary Standard Reagents: They must be pure substances within the test accuracy range and are used to verify and calibrate normal solutions and pH buffer solutions.