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Published on: May 16, 2014
THE REACTIONS OF IODINE AND IODOACETAMIDE WITH NATIVE EGG ALBUMIN
1Laboratories of The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, Princeton, New Jersey.
The Journal of General Physiology
|October 30, 2009
Summary
Native egg albumin
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Protein Chemistry
Background:
- Egg albumin's reactive groups are not fully understood.
- Investigating protein modification with iodine and iodoacetamide.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the reactivity of native egg albumin's sulfhydryl (SH) groups.
- To determine how iodine and iodoacetamide modify egg albumin.
Main Methods:
- Treatment of native egg albumin with iodine and iodoacetamide at different pH levels.
- Assessing changes in reducing power using nitroprusside and ferricyanide tests.
- Denaturation of treated egg albumin using Duponol PC.
Main Results:
- Iodine treatment abolishes nitroprusside test and ferricyanide reduction in denatured egg albumin.
- pH influences iodine's reaction with tyrosine and cysteine in egg albumin.
- Iodoacetamide treatment reduces egg albumin's ferricyanide reduction by 40%.
Conclusions:
- Native egg albumin possesses accessible, yet unreactive, SH groups.
- These SH groups react with iodine and iodoacetamide, modifying the protein.
- Preliminary data suggests similar modifications occur in tobacco mosaic and rabbit papilloma viruses.
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