Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I am a high school student in 11th grade and need to do an experiment that is college level. The topic I was interested in was of the effect of amino acids on plants. From a site I read that certain L type amino acids (there are many L types) effect certain areas of a plant. An example would be L-Alanine amino acid gives a good fruit quality.

However, I do not know if these amino acids can come in isolated and seperate forms. I think some come just clumped together, as one "power watering solution". But, I need seperate amino acids so that I can have controlled variables. Does anyone know where I could find these? If they are sold products, I'm not sure I will be able to buy them because they would probably come in large quantities (that I wouldn't need) and I would need many, so I'd have to pay much. So my other question is - can I find organic substances (or inorganic even) that are naturally high in speficial amino acids? Like plants, or nutrients, or anything.

I am very interested in this topic of research, however, it is very hard to move on with my research and experimentation right now because I do not know if I would even be able to experiment. Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Rainingtear,

It is very difficult to obtain pure chemical compounds as a regular consumer. You will need a purchasing agent from a renown laboratory (ie. university or research institution) to get any purified amino acids. I have heard that you can purchase chemicals on your own, but even getting a little bit can be prohibitively expensive and very difficult.

You may want to reconsider your project parameters if you do not have a laboratory at your disposal.