Question

When we homogenise any tissue in an acid, the acid soluble pool represents

• A. Nucleus
• B. Cytoplasm
• C. Mitochondria
• D. Cell membrane

Answer 1

The correct option is B Cytoplasm

Tissue homogenisation

When a living tissue is homogenised using trichloroacetic acid, it separates into two fractions:

A) Filtrate or acid-soluble pool
B) Retentate or acid-insoluble pool

• The acid-soluble pool contains biomicromolecules of cytoplasm.
• The acid-insoluble pool contains biomacromolecules of cytoplasm as well as other cell organelles like nucleus and mitochondria.

Acid soluble fraction

Acid soluble fraction contains amino acids, simple sugars, and nucleotides (these have a smaller molecular mass of 18-800 Da). So, the acid-soluble pool represents roughly the cytoplasmic composition.


Acid insoluble fraction

Cell membrane, nucleus, mitochondria have biomembranes which, on disruption, are broken into pieces forming vesicles. These vesicles being water-insoluble get separated along with the acid insoluble pool.

Final answer: a. Cytoplasm