[matth]

Hello,

is there any information available on which fluids/solvents would agarose/agaropectin/agar gel, besides water?
Could it gel ketones or anything else?

Also is there any literature describing average agar properties or uses in chemistry other than electrophoresis or salt bridges? Something which goes deeper into this subject (maybe older literature)?


Thank you

[Arkcon]

Agarose isn't just a reagent for electrophoresis or a salt bridge, it has a longer history.  Its used as a thickener for many foods, and a gelling agent for people who don't want to eat gelatin. You don't have to go for older literature, people talk about agar all the time.  The Wikipedia article has some references: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agar  I'd suspect that agar might precipitate in the presence of high concentrations of organic solvents.  Gelling agents like gelatin and agar are long polysaccharides that really more disperse in water, instead of dissolving.  Solvents, even polar ones, disrupt the hydrogen bonding too much to allow gelling.

[matth]

Thanks for your reply.

Given your explanation, is there any study/method to calculate what's the maximum amount of organic solvent (ethanol, acetone, etc.) which can be mixed with water and still gel?