Organic influences on inorganic patterns of diffusion-controlled precipitation in gels

The well-known AgNO(3)/K(2)CrO(4) reaction-diffusion system produces periodic bands of silver chromate precipitate in gelatin, but only randomly oriented crystals in agarose gel. We show that comparable bands can be produced in agarose gel by adding small amounts of simple organic acids (e.g., acetic acid, N-acetyl glycine, and N-acetyl alanine) that suppress crystal growth and promote formation of rounded particles of precipitate. These results indicate that alpha-carboxyl groups of amino acids or short peptides in gelatin under mildly acidic conditions can induce periodic band patterns in diffusion-controlled silver chromate precipitates. (C) 2010 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.