Question

A student was given a task of identifying the contents of five bottles of amino acids from which the labels had fallen off. Each of the original bottles contained one of the following: Arginine, Histidine, Cysteine , Proline, and Tryptophan. Which of the following methods could be most readily employed to identify tryptophan?

A. UV Spectroscopy

B. electrophoresis

C. gel filtration

D. analytical ul;tracentrifugation

E. optical rotation

Answer 1

To identify tryptophan among amino acids, UV Spectroscopy is the most suitable method because of its aromatic side chain which absorbs UV light effectively.

Step-by-step explanation:

The most readily employed method to identify tryptophan among a group of amino acids would be UV Spectroscopy. This technique is particularly suitable because tryptophan, along with phenylalanine and tyrosine, contains an aromatic side chain that absorbs light in the UV range. This absorption is due to chromophores present in their aromatic rings, making UV spectroscopy an effective method for detecting and quantifying tryptophan in a solution.