This week was very fun. I started off with some data analysis, where I graphed some data from last week, along with the different concentrations of NATA, L-Trip and Indole. This was interesting because I found that the pH of the solution does not greatly affect the epsilon, or the absorption The calculated epsilon (part of the equation to calculate absorbance) was much more accurate than the week before. Because of this, I was able to move on, and focus more on finding the fluorescence of different samples. This was interesting because if you use different parameters for the fluorometer, you get counts that can very quite a bit (think 36000000 v. 47000000). I finished off the week using a very fluorescent dye called FITC (Fluorescein isothiocyanate). I made a primary stock, and a secondary stock of this and a 200 µM concentration and a 20 µM concentration respectively. I then made samples of .5, 1.0 … 2.5 µM. With these samples I measured the concentration using and epsilon value of about 73000 and the UV Vis machine. I used a 1.0×1.0 cm cuvette and then took the fluorescence. We used a fluorescent dye, because we wanted to see how different the counts would be from the NATA, L-trip and Indole samples.
This is the primary stock solution of FITC.
I also spent time with my host family. We went to the famous San Diego zoo, where I saw a variety of animals from Koalas to Hippos. It was a great experience, especially because we were able to go the “night zoo” and it was much less crowded, and the animals were active (even the Koalas). We also went to an antique store that had everything from a zebra skin drum to a giant grandfather clock. I am so grateful for this experience, and can’t wait for next week.
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