Chemicals That Remove Stains

[alidelatorre]

I am an 8th grade student and my science project is about what kind of household objects (mainly chemicals,) can remove Sharpie ink. I have 3 questions I need answered by Tuesday January 17th.
1. What chemical makeup in acetone, allows it to remove stains?
2. What chemicals allow something to be permanent?
3. What other chemicals are able to remove stains, and what similarities do they share?
I need a response as soon as possible. Thanks.

[amyC]

Hi - Have you done research online to help answer these questions? Our Experts at Ask an Expert can help you as you develop a project, trouble shoot a project you are working on, or analyze your results, but they can't provide answers to questions that a bit of background reading should be able to answer.

Is part of your assignment an interview? If so, please review our policy on interview questions:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... =29&t=5681

Amy
Science Buddies

[alidelatorre]

I have done research on my project, but I needed to interview an expert in the field of what I'm researching, and ask them questions relating to my project.

[alidelatorre]

Interview questions for an expert in chemicals:
Why did a field involving science and chemicals, interest you?
Have you ever worked with specific chemicals that remove stains?
If so, is there any similarities these chemicals share that allow it to remove stains?
Thanks

[deleted-71882]

Hello alidelatorre,

Why did a field involving science and chemicals, interest you?
I have a PhD degree in physics. I studied physics to learn about how the whole universe works, from simple, practical questions like your question about stain removal to the most basic questions. I find it very useful and very satisfying to know how it all works.

Have you ever worked with specific chemicals that remove stains?
I have worked with many chemicals throughout my career as a laboratory scientist. Sometimes I used chemicals for cleaning, to separate parts of a complex mixture, and to make a chemical compound that was not available off-the-shelf. For example, I have used the chemical phenol to separate DNA from protein. If phenol is added to a solution of protein and DNA in water, the DNA remains in the water, but the protein dissolves in the phenol.

If so, is there any similarities these chemicals share that allow it to remove stains?
The kind of chemical needed to remove a stain depends on what the stain is composed of. In general, the chemical must do two things: it must act to dissolve the stain material, and it must not harm whatever the stain is on. If salt water dries on a fabric, it can leave a white powdery stain. In this case, water will remove the stain. If the stain is grease, then the chemical has to be something that will dissolve grease, Tetrachloroethene, known simply as "dry cleaning fluid" dissolves grease very well and does not harm most fabrics, but tetrachloroethene is hazardous to humans and is supposed to carefully contained and recycled.
One would not ordinarily refer to my DNA purification application as a "stain removal" job, but one could consider it that way. I had "dirty" DNA in a water solution. The stain was protein. My cleaning chemical was phenol. The phenol was safe (it left the DNA unharmed) and effective (it removed the phenol).
The similarities in stain-removing chemicals is by their function; in other words each one should be effective and safe for its chosen job.

Best regards, WW

[alidelatorre]

Thank you so much for your time! I really appreciate it!