Invertase Alternative

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yayawesome
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2015 4:46 am
Occupation: Student, 9th grade
Project Question: I am doing the Sucrose & Glucose & Fructose, Oh My! Uncovering Hidden Sugar in Your Food experiment. http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-f ... #procedure
Project Due Date: 7th March 2015
Project Status: I am conducting my experiment

Invertase Alternative

Post by yayawesome »

Hi,
I'm doing the Sucrose & Glucose & Fructose, Oh My! Uncovering Hidden Sugar in Your Food.
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... #procedure

I'm having trouble finding invertase in Sydney. Is there a store in Sydney or an alternative to using invertase? I can't order online because delivery will take too long. My project is due next week so it would be helpful if you could answer soon!
SciB
Expert
Posts: 2066
Joined: Fri Feb 01, 2013 7:00 am
Occupation: Retired molecular biologist, university researcher and teacher
Project Question: I wish to join Scibuddies to be able to help students achieve the best science project possible and to understand the science behind it.
Project Due Date: n/a
Project Status: Not applicable

Re: Invertase Alternative

Post by SciB »

Hi,

Invertase is used in many food manufacturing processes to convert sucrose to fructose and glucose. To find a local source of the enzyme you can call:

1. Candy makers - invertase is used in making the liquid centers in some candies

2. Vitamin and supplement stores - some enzyme preparations contain invertase

3. Universities - a food or agricultural sciences lab might have invertase and could give you some

4. Food manufacturers - some processes might use invertase

In reading about invertase i learned that the enzyme can be purified from baker's yeast (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q= ... 9000,d.eXY). You could try that as a last resort if you can't find invertase anywhere else. You could inactivate the yeast by heating it to 60C for 15 minutes then release the enzyme by adding a bit of detergent. I don't know if this yeast enzyme will actually convert sucrose to glucose but I think it would make an interesting addition to your project. Scientists often are faced with having to create a work-around for something they don't have.

Let us know what you decide to do and how it comes out, ok?

Good luck!

Sybee
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