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Animal Lab News®- Alkaline Hydrolysis, Gordon I. Kaye, PH.D., Peter B. Weber, PH. D., William M. ... |
 | | Historically, alkaline hydrolysis has been used to study the chemical structure of biological molecules, to prepare skeletal remains for study, and make soaps from animal fats by cooking the fat with lye to release the fatty acids, then cooling the mixture to precipitate the fatty acids as their sodium salts. |
 | | Alkaline hydrolysis as an improved alternative to incineration for disposing of waste biologic tissues and animal carcasses is based on the same chemical reaction, with strong alkali and heat used to speed the process. |
 | | Alkaline hydrolysis also removes critical groups from the molecules of glycoproteins, glycosaminoglycans, and glycolipids, the principal carbohydrates of connective tissue, as well as from the chitinous exoskeletons of insects and other invertebrates (e.g., the carapaces of crabs and lobsters); (1-3)-linked glycans, such as chondroitin sulfates, are slowly degraded. |
| www.animallab.com /articles.asp?pid=76 (2768 words) |
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