20405 Laboratory: Biochemistry of Proteins
Credits: 2 intermediate credits in Life Sciences or in Chemistry
Prerequisite:1 Biochemistry I: Proteins - Structure and Function
The course was developed by Nurith Shaklai and Ruth Arav.
Scientists apply many and varied methods to decipher protein structure and to study protein activity in the cell. The course enables the student to gain experience in several of these methods and to understand the ways in which data about protein structure and function is gathered and conclusions are drawn.
The course is an intensive workshop consisting of five 6-7 hour laboratory sessions conducted at the Open University laboratory. Students are given a blood sample from which they isolate proteins of the coagulation system and of red blood cells and examine their properties and biological activity. A discussion is held at the end of the workshop concerning the experiment results and conclusions are drawn about the relationship between protein structure, activity and integration in the cellular system. Before each laboratory session, students submit a preliminary report. During each session, they are tested on the theoretical background and after each session, submit a final laboratory report. Students are required to participate in all laboratory sessions and submit all reports.
Topics: Coagulation; Red blood cell proteins; Catalase and Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activity and function; Size-exclusion chromatography of proteins from the red blood cell cytosol; Hemoglobin – structure and function.
1Enrollment in the course is conditional upon the approval of an academic advisor in Life Sciences.