phenol/chloroform

[Chi-Kuang Wen]

If liquid phenol is equilibrated with Tris buffer and then
mixed with chloroform/isoamylalcohol, the upper phase shopuld
be aqueous phase and the lower phase should be organic phase.
In the aqueous phase, it should contain a certain concentration
of phenol/chloroform/IAA, and the organic phase should contain
a certain concentration of buffer.  Organic chemicals are not
100% insoluble in water, and water and salts are not 100% 
INSOLUBLE in organic chemicals.  You may smell 
phenol/chloroform/IAA from the upper phase, indicating that
the aqueous phase has organic chemicals in it.

Chi-Kuang Wen
-------------- next part --------------
From: ttha at uhura.cc.rochester.edu (Tom Thatcher)
Newsgroups: bionet.molbio.methds-reagnts
Subject: Re: phenol/chloroform
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 95 14:09:09 GMT
Organization: University of Rochester - Rochester, New York
Message-ID: <1995Dec19.140909.20861 at galileo.cc.rochester.edu>
References: <4b60p6$eu5 at mark.ucdavis.edu>

In <4b60p6$eu5 at mark.ucdavis.edu> ez022056 at bullwinkle.ucdavis.edu (Edward Wang) writes:

>Just out ofcuriosity, when one prepares phenol/chloroform, what is the 
>top phase and why should we not use it?

If you are mixing water-saturated, Tris-equilibrated phenol with 
chloroform, the top phase is water.  You shouldn't use it because there
is no phenol/chloroform in it :)


-- 
Tom Thatcher                          | You can give a PC to a Homo habilis,
University of Rochester Cancer Center | and he'll use it, but he'll use it
ttha at uhura.cc.rochester.edu           | to crack nuts.