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Ovalbumin Research Paper

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Ovalbumin is the main protein that is found in egg whites, which make up 55% of the total protein. Its main function is to provide a reserve of amino acids for developing embryos. [1] Proteins are purified by the method of sulphat e precipitation. This technique is useful as it removes large amounts of contaminant proteins.
Some proteins are made up of amino acids that contain sulphur. There are only two amino acids that contain sulphur, Methionine and Cysteine. Methionine has a thioether side chain, -(CH2)2-S-CH3, whereas, cysteine has a thiol group side chain, -CH2-SH. In proteins, the cysteine side chains form covalent bonds between each other to produce disulphide bonds, as a result of oxidation. The process of oxidation produces stable …show more content…

It reacts with free sulfhydryl groups to yield a mixed disulphide and TNB (2-nitro-5-thiobenzoic acid). DTNB targets the conjugate base (R-S) of free sulfhydryl groups. TNB is a bright yellow coloured species that is produced in the reaction and has a high molar extinction coefficient which can be seen in the visible range. [3]
The molar extinction coefficient, originally reported by Ellman (1959) [4], was 13.6 x 106M-1cm-1 at 412nm and pH 8.0. [5] The increase in absorbance at 412nm can be used to measure reactive thiol groups. The colour change observed is due to the presence of S- anions. DTNB is very useful as a sulfhydryl assay reagent because of its specificity for ‐SH groups at neutral pH, high molar extinction coefficient and short reaction time. [6] Thionitrobenzoate is produced by a further reaction which takes place in the presence of excess thiol, RSH.
SDS (sodium dodecyl sulphate) is a chemical agent that is used to denature protein molecules by straightening the polypeptide chain. Disulphide bonds are found in the tertiary structure of proteins and would not react if the protein remained folded. Without SDS, there would not be any thiol groups

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