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Macromolecules Essay

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Macromolecules rely on their environment for proper folding of their respective three- dimensional structure.10 This makes intuitive sense since the exterior, which is polar, is making contact to a polar solvent, like the cytoplasm that provide hydrogen bonds, electrostatic interactions, and conceal the nonpolar residues away from the polar solvent.10 The body has a stable pH and temperature that proteins take advantage to form amazing functional complexes. They can catalyze reactions as enzymes, transport compounds, and make complex units to reach a certain goal like ATP synthase10.They can be dangerous as well, such as binding to receptors on cells for virus entry4. Proteins lose their conformation when they are out of range in temperature …show more content…

Examples of a subunit vaccine are the Influenza and the Acellular Pertuccis 3. Most vaccines are a composite of proteins and as such must be set at the right temperature and pH due to the importance of stability affecting the function of the antigen3. Vaccines exposed to a temperature outside the recommended range, which is approximately 5 degrees celsius, will have a decrease in potency. Errors in handling and storage can result in a loss of thousand of dollars and loss of the vaccines3. Once made, a vaccine needs to be stored until needed.Great immunization techniques consists of proper handling and vaccine storage2 3. 80% of the costs in vaccination programs arise from trying to keep vaccines cold 5. Third world countries do not have many places to store vaccines. Not only are they limited to storing but also limited in transportation5. Approximately 1.5 million children succumb to diseases that are preventable by a vaccine6. We propose a revolutionary method for storing vaccines using an organism’s protein that has proven to withstand even the vacuum of space …show more content…

After the addition of water they keep everything intact and functional7. Tardigrades have been able to adapt these conditions by achieving cryptobiosis. This cryptobiosis is a state where the tardigrades can reach a standstill in their whole metabolic processes1. The caveat is that water bears are only capable of surviving such conditions only when they are under this suspended animation. It is at this state only that release a protein that encapsulates them and is an extreme fort of defense1. There is a study where this protein is isolated and expressed in E.coli to protect the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase in dry conditions. When they added to water to the enzyme, it remained functional7 8. We plan on extracting this microscopic invertebrates protein’s, referred to as bioglass, and applying it to vaccines to preserve the integrity of the vaccines. This will allow the ability to safely transport vaccines while keeping the vaccines functional; no longer requiring specific storage and easy, albeit safe handling if our hypotheses are correct. If this project were to be a success after vigorous testing of keeping these vaccines in stable conditions, even after being exposed to the abnormal temperature, this can revolutionize the way we handle vaccines. The cloning and expression of the protein should take no longer than a few weeks or months by following the protocols

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