Why is the grass, as well as the leaves on the trees and bushes green? Blame chlorophyll. You can take a strong rope of knowledge and make a good acquaintance with it.
History
Let's take a short excursion into the relatively recent past. Joseph Bienemé Cavantou and Pierre Joseph Pelletier are the ones to shake hands with. The men of science tried to separate the green pigment from the leaves of different plants. The efforts were successful in 1817.
The pigment was called chlorophyll. From Greek, chloros is green and phyllon is a leaf. Regardless of the above, at the beginning of the 20th century Mikhail Tsvet and Richard Willstätter came to the conclusion: it turns out that several components enter the chlorophyll.
Rolling up his sleeves, Willstatter set to work. Purification and crystallization revealed two components. They were called simply, alpha and beta (a and b). For works in the field of research of this substance in 1915, he was solemnly awarded the Nobel Prize.
In 1940, Hans Fisher proposed to the whole world the final structure of chlorophyll "a". Synthesis king Robert Burns Woodward and several scientists from America received in 1960 an unnatural chlorophyll. So the veil of secrecy was opened - the appearance of chlorophyll.
Chemical properties
The chlorophyll formula, determined from experimental indicators, looks like this: C 55 H 72 O 5 N 4 Mg. The design includes organic dicarboxylic acid (chlorophyllin), as well as methyl alcohols and phytol. Chlorophyllin is an organometallic compound directly related to magnesium porphyrins and containing nitrogen.
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MgN 4 OH 30 C 32
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Chlorophyll appears to be an ester due to the fact that the remaining parts of methyl alcohol CH 3 OH and phytol C 20 H 39 OH replaced the hydrogen of the carboxyl groups.
Above is the structural formula of chlorophyll alpha. Having examined it carefully, you can see that beta-chlorophyll has one more oxygen atom, but two less hydrogen atoms (CHO group instead of CH 3 ). Hence, the molecular weight of alpha-chlorophyll is lower than that of beta.
In the middle of the particle of the substance of interest to us, magnesium has settled. It combines with 4 nitrogen atoms of pyrrole formations. A system of elementary and alternating double bonds can be observed in pyrrole bonds.
The chromophore formation, which fits well with chlorophyll, is N. It makes it possible to absorb individual rays of the solar spectrum and its color, regardless of the fact that in the afternoon the sun burns like a flame, and in the evening it looks like smoldering embers.
Let's move on to the sizes. The porphyrin core is 10 nm in diameter; the phytol fragment turned out to be 2 nm long. In the core, chlorophyll is 0.25 nm, between the microparticles of the pyrrole groups of nitrogen.
I would like to note that the magnesium atom, which is part of chlorophyll, is only 0.24 nm in diameter and almost completely fills the free space between the atoms of the pyrrole groups of nitrogen, which helps the nucleus of the molecule to be stronger.
We can conclude: of the two components under the simple name of alpha and beta, chlorophyll (a and b) consists.
Chlorophyll a
The relative mass of the molecule is 893.52. In a separate stay they create black microcrystals with a blue tint. At a temperature of 117-120 degrees Celsius, they melt and transform into a liquid.
In ethanol, the same chloroforms in acetone, as well as benzols, are readily dissolved. The results assume a blue-green color and have a distinctive feature - saturated red fluorescence. Poorly soluble in petroleum ether. They do not bloom in water at all.
Chlorophyll Alpha Formula: C 55 H 72 O 5 N 4 Mg. The substance is classified as chlorin in its chemical structure. In the ring, propionic acid is attached to propionic acid, namely to its residue.
Some plant organisms, instead of chlorophyll a, form its analogue. Here, the ethyl group (-CH 2 -CH 3 ) in the II pyrrole ring was replaced by a vinyl group (-CH = CH 2 ). Such a molecule comprises the first vinyl group in ring one, the second in ring two.
Chlorophyll b
The formula of chlorophyll beta is as follows: C 55 H 70 O 6 N 4 Mg. The molecular weight of the substance is 903. At the C 3 carbon atom in the pyrrole ring, there is a little alcohol devoid of hydrogen –HC = O, which is yellow. This is the difference from chlorophyll a.
We dare to note that in the special permanent parts of the cell, vital for its further existence, chloroplast plastids, there are several types of chlorophylls.
Chlorophylls c and d
Chlorophyll c. Was found in cryptomonads, dinoflagellates, as well as in bacillariophytic and brown algae. Classic porphyrin is what makes this pigment different.
In red algae, chlorophyll d. Some doubt its existence. It is believed that it is only a product of the degeneration of chlorophyll a. At the moment, we can confidently say that chlorophyll with the letter d is the main dye of some photosynthetic prokaryotes.
Chlorophyll properties
After lengthy research, there was evidence that the differences were observed in the characteristics of the chlorophyll present in the plant and obtained from it. Chlorophyll in plants is linked to protein. The following observations indicate this:
- The absorption spectrum of chlorophyll in the sheet is different, if we compare it with the extracted one.
- Pure alcohol from dried plants to get the description of the object is unrealistic. The extraction proceeds safely with well-moistened leaves, or water should be added to alcohol. It is she who breaks down the protein associated with chlorophyll.
- Material drawn from the leaves of plants is rapidly destroyed under the influence of oxygen, concentrated acid, and light rays.
But chlorophyll in plants is resistant to all of the above.
Chloroplasts
Chlorophyll plants contain 1% of dry matter. You can find it in special organelles of the cell - plastids, which shows its uneven distribution in the plant. Green plastids of cells with chlorophyll in them are called chloroplasts.
The amount of H 2 O in chloroplasts ranges from 58 to 75%, the dry matter content consists of proteins, lipids, chlorophyll and carotenoids.
Chlorophyll Functions
Surprising similarities were found by scientists in the construction of chlorophyll and hemoglobin molecules - the main respiratory component of human blood. The difference lies in the fact that magnesium is located in the claw-shaped compound in the middle in the pigment of plant origin, and iron in hemoglobin.
During photosynthesis, the vegetation of the planet absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen. Here's another great feature of chlorophyll. By activity, it can be compared with hemoglobin, but the amount of exposure to the human body is somewhat larger.
Chlorophyll is a plant pigment that is sensitive to light and coated in green. Next is photosynthesis, in which its microparticles convert the energy of the sun, absorbed by plant cells, into chemical energy.
We can come to the following conclusions that photosynthesis is the process of converting the energy of the sun. If you trust the modern information, it is noted that the synthesis of organic substances from carbon dioxide and water using light energy is decomposed into three stages.
Stage number 1
This phase is completed in the process of photochemical decomposition of water, with the assistance of chlorophyll. The release of molecular oxygen is noted.
Stage number 2
Here, several redox reactions are observed. They take active assistance from cytochromes and other electron carriers. The reaction occurs due to the light energy transferred by the electrons from the water to NADPH and forms ATP. Light energy is stored here.
Stage number 3
Already formed NADPH and ATP are used to convert carbon dioxide to carbohydrate. The absorbed light energy is involved in the reactions of stages 1 and 2. The reactions of the last, third, occur without the participation of light and are called dark.
Photosynthesis is the only biological process that takes place with increasing free energy. Directly or indirectly provides accessible chemical enterprise for the bipedal, winged, wingless, tetrapods and other organisms that live on earth.
Hemoglobin and chlorophyll
The hemoglobin and chlorophyll molecules have a complex, but at the same time, similar atomic structure. Common in their structure is a profin - a ring of small rings. The difference is noticed in the processes attached to the profin and in the atoms located inside: the iron atom (Fe) in hemoglobin, in chlorophyll magnesium (Mg).
Chlorophyll and hemoglobin are similar in structure, but form different protein structures. Chlorophyll is formed around the magnesium atom, hemoglobin around iron. If you take a molecule of liquid chlorophyll and disconnect the phytol tail (20 carbon chain), change the magnesium atom to iron, then the green color of the pigment turns red. The result is a finished hemoglobin molecule.
Chlorophyll is absorbed easily and quickly, thanks to just such a similarity. Well supports the body with oxygen starvation. It saturates the blood with the necessary microelements, hence it better transports the most important substances for life to the cells. There is a timely release of waste materials, toxins, waste resulting from natural metabolism. Has an effect on sleeping white blood cells, awakening them.
The described hero without fear and reproach protects, strengthens cell membranes, helps restore connective tissue. The merits of chlorophyll include the rapid healing of ulcers, various wounds and erosions. Improves immune function, the ability to stop pathological disorders of DNA molecules is highlighted.
A positive trend in the treatment of infectious and colds. This is not the whole list of good deeds of the substance considered.