Curcumin and Ascorbic Acid on the Stability of Dopamine

[erinsmith280]

I am on a tight crunch to finalize and carry out my research. I have came up and researched my idea so far. Basically, I am testing the effects of curcumin and ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) on the stability of dopamine, which deteriorates in patients that have Parkinson Disease. However, I am confused at how I should conduct my research. Does any one have any ideas on how I could test my idea? I would be so grateful for any help.

Thank you so much!

Erin

[deleted-2131]

Hi erinsmith280,

Do you have a mentor or laboratory that you are working in? You will need access to basic lab equipment, at the very least. Have you planned any of your procedures, or do you just have an idea to test and need to plan your procedures from scratch? Any other details you can provide will help us help you better.

Looking forward to your reply!

[erinsmith280]

Thank you so much for your reply. I do have access to a laboratory, so supplies should not be a problem. However, I have no idea how to test it and I need help on the procedures. What steps should I take to test this?

[deleted-2131]

Hi Erin,

Ok, let's see what we can come up with given your time constraints. First, your project is due March 1st, right? Second, can you clarify what you mean by "stability"? Are you referring to stability in the levels or ratios of dopamine to other chemicals in the body? Are you referring to how long it takes dopamine to break down into other chemicals? Or are thinking of something else entirely? Until I know what you mean by "stability", it is difficult to help you develop exact procedures. The more information and details you provide, the better we Experts will be able to help you. Depending on what, exactly, you are wanting to study, the Experts in the Life Sciences forum might be able to help you better. If it looks like that is the case, I'll move your post over there.

I asked if you had a lab you are working because you may need an in-person mentor to make this project work. If you already have an in-person mentor, then she or he will probably be the best person to help you develop procedures, since she or he knows what equipment is available. Do you have an in-person mentor at the lab you are working in?

Here are some general thoughts, although biology is not my expertise. Given the time constraints, you may be limited to working with dopamine in solution, since projects working with animals or cell cultures often required pre-approval; you should check with your fair to see what their rules are. In that case, you may need to order dopamine, curcumin, and ascorbic acid from a chemical supplier. I took a quick look at Sigma-Aldrich, and it looks the cost would be ~$35/bottle for the smallest bottles. Shipping takes time, and companies like Sigma Aldrich ship to schools, not to individual people. If the lab you are working in already has these chemicals on hand, then that will save you time (and possibly $). Many fairs require pre-approval to work with certain chemicals; again, you should check with your fair to make sure they approve your project. Enzymes can be quite expensive, which you may need if you are thinking about looking at how dopamine gets broken down in the body.

You will also need to be able to have some way of measuring how much dopamine is in your samples. The technique that comes to mind is spectrophotometry, but that requires that you have access to a spectrophotometer, as well as additional reagents. If the lab you are working in doesn't have a spectrophotometer, then you may need to find one that does, which will, again, take time.

If your project is due March 1st, the timeline will be very, very tight. If I'm understanding you correctly, you want to do a very interesting, but fairly advanced, project. I don't want to quash your enthusiasm--this really sounds like an interesting project--but it might not be realistic to develop procedures that work, find access to the needed reagents and equipment, run experiments, and analyze the data for a complex project like the one (I think) you are proposing. That's why it is so important for you to provide details about what you mean by "stability". If there are articles you've come across in your background research, posting links to those would be helpful.