The laboratory protocol presented here takes about 3 hours to perform and investigates protein and lipid interactions. Students first purify His6-tagged human apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) with Ni-NTA affinity resin in a simple batch protocol and prepare multilamellar vesicles (MLV) from pre-dried phospholipid films. When apoA-I is added to the MLV,…

We present a practical activity focusing on two main goals: to give learners the opportunity to experience how the scientific method works and to increase their knowledge about enzymes in everyday situations. The exercise consists of determining the amylase activity of commercial detergents. The methodology is based on a qualitative assay using a…

An innovative first- and second-year laboratory course sequence is described. The goal of the instructional model is to introduce chemistry and biochemistry majors to the process of research participation earlier in their academic training. To achieve that goal, the instructional model incorporates significant hands-on experiences with chemical…

A new method is presented for measuring the rate of the oxidation of glucose in the presence of glucose oxidase. The improved method employs luminescence measurements to directly determine the concentration of oxygen in real time, thus obviating complicated reaction schemes employed in previous methods. Our method has been used to determine…

Explains the procedures used to determine the regulatory properties of yeast pyruvate kinase. Involves a partial purification using PEG precipitation that can be done in one laboratory period with simple equipment. (DDR)

Shows how a simple investigation of the enzyme, thrombin, can provide a series of experiments giving information on enzyme characteristics. The results also provide a basis for discussion of the coagulation mechanism and related phenomena. (Author/AL)

Described is the use of fluorometry in an experiment where the fluorescence of riboflavin is specifically quenched when titrated with riboflavin-binding protein. The amount of riboflavin, required by all organisms, in an unknown solution and the dissociation constant of the vitamin-protein complex can be determined using this method. (KR)