insoluble

(adjective)

That which cannot be dissolved.

Related Terms

Examples of insoluble in the following topics:

  • Precipitation Reactions

    • Precipitation reactions transform ions into an insoluble salt in aqueous solution.
    • Precipitation refers to a chemical reaction that occurs in aqueous solution when two ions bond together to form an insoluble salt, which is known as the precipitate.
    • A precipitation reaction can occur when two solutions containing different salts are mixed, and a cation/anion pair in the resulting combined solution forms an insoluble salt; this salt then precipitates out of solution.
    • To determine the solubility of an given salt, find the cationic component along the left-hand side, match it to the anionic component along the top, then check to see if it is S - soluble, I - insoluble, or sS - slightly soluble.

  • Dietary Fiber

    • Insoluble fiber has bulking action, and it is not fermented.
    • Lignin, a major dietary insoluble fiber source, may alter the fate and metabolism of soluble fibers.
    • Some plants contain significant amounts of both soluble and insoluble fiber.
    • The plum's skin is a source of insoluble fiber while soluble fiber is in the pulp.
    • Table shows the functions and benefits of soluble and insoluble dietary fiber.

  • Solubility

    • The term "insoluble" is often applied to poorly soluble compounds.
    • In contrast, a non-polar solute such as naphthalene is insoluble in water, moderately soluble in methanol, and highly soluble in benzene.
    • Carbonates, hydroxides, sulfates, phosphates, and heavy metal salts are often insoluble.
    • The solubilities of salts formed from cations on the left and anions on the top are designated as: soluble (S), insoluble (I), or slightly soluble (sS).
    • Recognize the various ions that cause a salt to generally be soluble/insoluble in water.

  • Predicting Precipitation Reactions

    • Note that soluble compounds will dissolve in water and insoluble compounds will not.
    • Carbonates (CO32-): All are insoluble except those of potassium (K+), sodium (Na+), and ammonium (NH4+).
    • Salts of phosphates (PO43-), oxalates (C2O42-), chromates (CrO42-), and sulfides (S2-): Generally insoluble.
    • The product that forms may be insoluble, in which case a precipitate will form, or soluble, in which case the solution will be clear.
    • You know that sodium chloride (NaCl) is soluble in water, so the remaining product (copper carbonate) must be the one that is insoluble.

  • Properties of Sulfur

    • Sulfur burns with blue flame, is insoluble in water, and forms polyatomic allotropes.
    • Sulfur is insoluble in water but soluble in carbon disulfide and, to a lesser extent, in other nonpolar organic solvents, such as benzene and toluene.

  • Chemical Analysis

    • Those that form insoluble chlorides, such as lead, silver, and mercury.
    • Those that form acid-insoluble sulfides, such as cadmium, bismuth, copper, antimony, and tin.
    • Those that form insoluble hydroxide complexes, such as iron, aluminum, and chromium.
    • A group of insoluble carbonate salts.

  • Plasma Membrane Hormone Receptors

    • Lipid-insoluble hormones bind to receptors on the outer surface of the plasma membrane, via plasma membrane hormone receptors.
    • Unlike steroid hormones, lipid-insoluble hormones do not directly affect the target cell because they cannot enter the cell and act directly on DNA.
    • The specific response of a cell to a lipid-insoluble hormone depends on the type of receptors that are present on the cell membrane and the substrate molecules present in the cell cytoplasm.

  • Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

    • The other conformational state is relatively water-insoluble and readily forms protein aggregates.
    • The number of misfolded protein molecules will increase exponentially and the process leads to a large quantity of insoluble protein in affected cells.

  • Lipid-Derived, Amino Acid-Derived, and Peptide Hormones

    • Steroid hormones are insoluble in water; they are carried by transport proteins in blood.
    • Amino acid-derived and polypeptide hormones are water-soluble and insoluble in lipids.

  • Capillary Dynamics

    • Transcytosis is the mechanism whereby large, lipid-insoluble substances cross the capillary membranes.
    • Bulk flow is used by small, lipid-insoluble solutes in water in order to cross the the capillary wall.