Light Pollution ProjectLight Pollution ProjectTHIN LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHYTHIN LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY

S3 2002, Visnjan

Light Pollution Project - TLC

TTHEORYHEORY

Photosynthesis

- process which plants use to produce carbohydrates

6H2O + 6CO2 -----> C6H12O6+ 6O2

- light is necessary for the process

- light is absorbed by plant pigments

Light Pollution Project - TLC

TTHEORYHEORY

Chlorophyll - the major plant pigment

Accessory pigments- e.g. carotenoids

Light Pollution Project - TLC

EEXPERIMENTSXPERIMENTS

- we analyzed the influence of light on concentration of the chlorophyll

1. LABORATORY CONDITIONS

- cucumber

- tungsten and Na lamps

- 24 h under the lamps

16 h outside and 8 h

under the lamps

regular daily cycle

Light Pollution Project - TLC

EEXPERIMENTSXPERIMENTS

NATURAL CONDITIONS

- compare the concentration of chlorophyll between plants of the same species on “Istarski Y” and referential field

- these two locations are similar because of the artificial lake for water treatment

- different geological and hydrological elements

Light Pollution Project - TLC

EEXPERIMENTSXPERIMENTS

TLC (thin layer chromatography)

- after extraction of the chlorophyll from plants, the samples were put on TLC plates

- development of plates

- calculation of areas of the spots

- the area of the spot is proportional to the concentration of the chlorophyll in the sample

Light Pollution Project - TLC

RRESULTSESULTS

- plants under both types of plants have lower concentration of chlorophyll then the control ones

0

0,02

0,04

0,06

0,08

0,1

0,12

0,14

0,16

0,18

Na obicna kontr.

16

24

LABORATORY CONDITIONS

Light Pollution Project - TLC

RRESULTSESULTS

NATURAL CONDITIONS

00,05

0,10,15

0,20,25

0,30,35

lotus asteraceae plantago cichorium daucus

ref

y

- for different species, light has different effect on the concentration of chlorophyll

Light Pollution Project - TLC

RRESULTSESULTS

-0,15

-0,1

-0,05

0

0,05

0,1

0,15

0,2

0,25

0,3

1 2 3 4 5

razlike

Light Pollution Project - TLC

CCONCLUSIONONCLUSION

- when plants are illuminated during the night the concentration of chlorophyll reduces

- there is only one measurement for each type of plant and there is a big chance that mistakes occur

- sodium lamps increase the amount of chlorophyll of some plants (e.g. cichorium and daucus), to some don’t have any influence (e.g. plantago) and to some decrease the amount of chlorophyll(e.g. lotus and asteraceae)

- the important thing is that software for calculating areas very precisely is developed