What’s up?

Up to know, research has been going a bit slow. We have been consulting with some expert crystallographer’s that have been doing this for many years; and apparently the protocol to crystallize any substance is extremely difficult (we already knew that). What I mean is that various parameters need to be taken into account before jumping knee-deep into an experiment of this magnitude. These parameters are:

1. Myoglobin Concentration

2. Myoglobin time of stability (it loves to interact with air !)

3. Ambient temperature

4. pH

5. Isoelectric point (pI)

6. precipitating agent (usually the crystallization is attempted with about fifty different agents)

In order to properly crystallize a substance (protein or any atomic species), it must form a perfect crystal (no in betweens here!). A perfect crystallization will yied a periodical arrangement of amino acids; all coinciding in the same third dimensional plane.

If the experiment is not completed with needed accuracy, an amorphous precipitate is formed. This amorphous precipitate is basically a non periodical arrangement of the amino acids that are being studied. An analogy in order to better understand this can compared to cement construction. An amorphous precipitate would be similar to throwing a bunch of blocks together and using mortar to fill in the cracks. This would definitely produce a structure but it would be highly unstable. A crystal, on the other hand, would be similar to having each cement block placed in perfect order, thus producing a perfect wall.

It would be a terrible shame if the time and money spent into this project was wasted on crystallizing a water atom. Why a waste of time? Well the crystallization experiment usually spans the course of a month. But once we have the formation of crystals, these must be sent off to be studied via x-ray irradiation, and this process can take years!

At the moment I continue to become familiarized with the Bio-inorganic laboratory. I continue to practice the synthesis of sulf-myoglobin (or Hb). In the laboratory ones best friends are the UV-Vis spectrophotometer and the centrifuge. In order to be certain that sulf-myoglobin has been formed; a large band (known as the Soret) appears around 620.0nm. This is one of the principal ways in which we know that the complex has been formed. Another (quick and easy) way is that the solution turns green when we add the H2S. When Hopefully within the next coming weeks we will proceed with the crystallization.

I have been visiting other blogs (all though I haven’t commented on all of them) and I have noticed that the Biominds community is extremely diverse!

For some reason I was only able to comment on one of the assigned blogs because the other two apparently don’t exist? Well when I write the address down, wordpress asks me if I would like to make another blog with such address? Weird eh? Well if anybody wants to try them out… perhaps my computer has already gone crazy or something; here they are:

anyka28.wordpress.com

jtec.wordpress.com

I know free promotion on my blog! No worries guys! I did visit one blog that was one developing improved hip implants. The hips are one of the more critical areas of the body for the elderly; i was very proud to visit somebody who will be undergoing research in this field.

Once my research speeds up I will be posting more soon; including the initial observations of the crystallization experiment.

I wanted to share some sites with you; here is one a BioMinds companion (her name is Pamela Silen-Rivera) shared with me: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T39-4RC6R7K-3&_user=1671584&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000054082&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=1671584&md5=b96ee02209ad816fa95d9d5de8f35e2f

Bonne chance tout le monde, je dois aller !

~ by chrismolini on March 26, 2008.