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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #91589
Title: MONITORING SUGAR METABOLISM IN SWEET CORN USING CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS

Author
item GILBERT, AL - SOSU
item SMITH, J. - SOSU
item Russo, Vincent

Submitted to: Undergraduate Research Symposium
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/15/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: A method was developed for the analysis of simple sugar content in sweet corn tissue at various stages of plant development using capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). The sugars quantified included glucose, fructose, and sucrose. A simple extraction method was developed to extract the sugars from freeze-dried tissue samples. The method developed separates these sugars in less than 10 minutes without interferences from the sample matrix. Since these sugars have little absorbance in the UV-vis region, indirect photometric detection was employed for quantification. Sorbic acid and 2,6-naphthalene-dicarboxylic acid were examined as potential background chromophores for indirect detection. The method was characterized in terms of the limit of detection, its working range, and reproducibility. More than 30 tissue samples were analyzed in triplicate batches using this method. Observable trends in sugar metabolism were recognized.