Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
In biochemistry, denaturation is a process in which proteins or nucleic acids lose folded structure present in their native state due to various factors, including application of some external stress or compound, such as a strong acid or base, a concentrated inorganic salt, an organic solvent (e.g., alcohol or chloroform), agitation and radiation, or heat. [3]
A chaotropic agent is a substance which disrupts the structure of, and denatures, macromolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids (e.g. DNA and RNA).Chaotropic solutes increase the entropy of the system by interfering with intermolecular interactions mediated by non-covalent forces such as hydrogen bonds, van der Waals forces, and hydrophobic effects.
The most famous example is the hyperchromicity of DNA that occurs when the DNA duplex is denatured. [1] The UV absorption is increased when the two single DNA strands are being separated, either by heat or by addition of denaturant or by increasing the pH level. The opposite, a decrease of absorbance is called hypochromicity.
Guanidinium thiocyanate can be used to deactivate a virus, such as the influenza virus that caused the 1918 "Spanish flu", so that it can be studied safely.. Guanidinium thiocyanate is also used to lyse cells and virus particles in RNA and DNA extractions, where its function, in addition to its lysing action, is to prevent activity of RNase enzymes and DNase enzymes by denaturing them.
Nucleic acid thermodynamics is the study of how temperature affects the nucleic acid structure of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). The melting temperature (T m) is defined as the temperature at which half of the DNA strands are in the random coil or single-stranded (ssDNA) state. T m depends on the length of the DNA molecule and its specific ...
Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye and caustic soda, [1] [2] is an inorganic compound with the formula NaOH.It is a white solid ionic compound consisting of sodium cations Na + and hydroxide anions OH −.
Oxygen is the final electron acceptor in the degradation of both purines. Uric acid is then excreted from the body in different forms depending on the animal. [5] Free purine and pyrimidine bases that are released into the cell are typically transported intercellularly across membranes and salvaged to create more nucleotides via nucleotide salvage.
Denaturation: If alkaline transfer methods are used, the DNA gel is placed into an alkaline solution (typically containing sodium hydroxide) to denature the double-stranded DNA. The denaturation in an alkaline environment may improve binding of the negatively charged thymine residues of DNA to a positively charged amino groups of membrane ...