Uses of biochemistry

Eventually, scientists inserted the human gene that codes for the production of insulin into bacteria, which were then able to produce enough insulin to supply diabetics. This example demonstrates the usefulness of biochemistry, the study of the chemicals that compose living organisms. 

Manufactured protein fibers, often called azlons, are man-made fibers produced from animal or plant proteins. Examples of protein sources are milk, chicken feathers, soy beans, peanuts, corns, etc. Traditionally, most manufactured protein fibers were made directly from proteins dissolved in solvents. Recent trends in the research and development of manufactured protein fibers include the use of biochemistry to modify the source proteins and the introduction of synthetic polymers such as polyvinyl alcohol and polyacrylonitrile to improve the fiber mechanical properties. Antibacterial agents are often being added during the fiber formation process to provide health benefits to the manufactured protein fibers. As a result, the chemical structure of manufactured protein fibers is becoming more complex. 

For this third generation of manufactured protein fibers, milk and soy beans are the two most important protein sources. Chicken feathers also are being widely used in the development. In addition to the common methods used in the first and second generations, many technical innovations have been applied to the production of these manufactured protein fibers. Examples include the use of biochemistry to modity the protein structure, the incorporation of synthetic polymers to improve the fiber strength and modulus, the formation of protein-based copolymers by chemical grafting, etc. 

Although intended for the biochemistry lab, this experiment provides analytical students with a practical characterization analysis. Of particular interest is the use of Job s method to determine the number of TNS (2-p-toludinylnaphthalene-6-sulfonate) binding sites on calmodulin, fluorescence is measured at 475 nm using an excitation wavelength of 330 nm. 

A particular mode of neurotoxicity was discovered for tricresyl phosphate that correlated with the presence of the o-cresyl isomer (or certain other specific aLkylphenyl isomers) in the triaryl phosphates. Many details of the chemistry and biochemistry of the toxic process have been elucidated (139,140,143—146). The use of low ortho-content cresols has become the accepted practice in industrial production of tricresyl phosphate. Standard in vivo tests, usually conducted with chickens sensitive to this mode of toxicity, have been developed for premarket testing of new or modified triaryl phosphates. As of 1992, the EPA called for extensive new toxicity and environmental data on this group of products (147). The Vederal e ster AoQ xm. ci. calling for this... 

K. A. HassaH, The Biochemistry and Uses of Pesticides Structure, Metabolism, Mode of Action and Uses in Crop Protection, 2nd ed., VCH VedagsgeseUschaft, Weinheim, Germany, 1990. 

Completely trivial names continue in use for good reasons, of which an important one is the need for a simple name for frequent communication concerning a commonly encountered compound or structure. For obscure compounds there is surely neither need nor desirability to perpetuate trivial names, and coining new trivial names is almost never justified. Let us, however, consider purine , the trivial name for what might more systematically be named imidazo[5,4-ring system is so important in biochemistry that exclusive use of one of the systematic names would be intolerable. If the name purine were not available, another short trivial name would inevitably be coined, or even an acronym ( IP or TAP ). It is better to retain the name sanctioned by roughly a century of use, and benefit from a link in comprehension with the past. 

This chapter lists some representative examples of biochemicals and their origins, a brief indication of key techniques used in their purification, and literature references where further details may be found. Simpler low molecular weight compounds, particularly those that may have been prepared by chemical syntheses, e.g. acetic acid, glycine, will be found in Chapter 4. Only a small number of enzymes and proteins are included because of space limitations. The purification of some of the ones that have been included has been described only briefly. The reader is referred to comprehensive texts such as the Methods Enzymol (Academic Press) series which currently runs to more than 344 volumes and The Enzymes (3rd Edn, Academic Press) which runs to 22 volumes for methods of preparation and purification of proteins and enzymes. Leading referenees on proteins will be found in Advances in Protein Chemistry (59 volumes. Academic Press) and on enzymes will be found in Advances in Enzymology (72 volumes, then became Advances in Enzymology and Related Area of Molecular Biology, J Wiley Sons). The Annual Review of Biochemistry (Annual Review Inc. Patio Alto California) also is an excellent source of key references to the up-to-date information on known and new natural compounds, from small molecules, e.g. enzyme cofactors to proteins and nucleic acids. 

Monte Carlo search methods are stochastic techniques based on the use of random numbers and probability statistics to sample conformational space. The name Monte Carlo was originally coined by Metropolis and Ulam [4] during the Manhattan Project of World War II because of the similarity of this simulation technique to games of chance. Today a variety of Monte Carlo (MC) simulation methods are routinely used in diverse fields such as atmospheric studies, nuclear physics, traffic flow, and, of course, biochemistry and biophysics. In this section we focus on the application of the Monte Carlo method for... 

To help the reader keep abreast of these advances we present a list of useful WWW sites in this appendix. Realistically, this list should be updated on a daily basis as many of the tools offered on the Internet are made available not only by large organizations and research groups but also by individual researchers. The goal, therefore, has not been to provide a nearly complete guide to the WWW but rather to provide material representative of the tools useful to researchers in the fields of biochemistry and biophysics. 

The first dynamical simulation of a protein based on a detailed atomic model was reported in 1977. Since then, the uses of various theoretical and computational approaches have contributed tremendously to our understanding of complex biomolecular systems such as proteins, nucleic acids, and bilayer membranes. By providing detailed information on biomolecular systems that is often experimentally inaccessible, computational approaches based on detailed atomic models can help in the current efforts to understand the relationship of the strucmre of biomolecules to their function. For that reason, they are now considered to be an integrated and essential component of research in modern biology, biochemistry, and biophysics. 

Paracelsus, a Swiss physician of the sixteenth century, stated that everything is toxic, it is just the dose that matters. This statement still holds true 500 years after Paracelsus developed it to defend the use of toxic compounds such as lead and mercury in the treatment of serious diseases such as syphilis. Chemical compounds cause their toxic effects by inducing changes in cell physiology and biochemistry, and an understanding of cellular biology is a prerequisite if one wishes to understand the nature of toxic reactions. 

Cells make use of many different types of membranes. All cells have a cytoplasmic membrane, or plasma membrane, that functions (in part) to separate the cytoplasm from the surroundings. In the early days of biochemistry, the plasma membrane was not accorded many functions other than this one of partition. We now know that the plasma membrane is also responsible for (1) the exclusion of certain toxic ions and molecules from the cell, (2) the accumulation of cell nutrients, and (3) energy transduction. It functions in (4) cell locomotion, (5) reproduction, (6) signal transduction processes, and (7) interactions with molecules or other cells in the vicinity. 

Hyland, L., Toma.szek, T, and Meek, T, 1991. Human immunodeficiency viru.s-1 protease 2 Use of pH rate. studies and solvent isotope effects to elucidate details of chemical mechanism. Biochemistry 30 8454-8463. 

Cooper, T. G., 1977. The Tools of Biochemistry. New York Wiley-Inter.science. Chapter 3, Radiochemistry, discn.sses techniques for using radioisotopes in biochemistry. 

The chemical system of even the smallest plant or animal is one of extreme complexity. It has a multitude of compounds, many of polymeric nature, existing in hundreds of interlocking equilibrium reactions whose rates are influenced by a number of specific catalysts. We will not try to study such a system. Instead we will show some parts of it, some examples that have been well studied and which illustrate the applicability of chemical principles. All of our knowledge of biochemistry has come through use of the same basic ideas and the same experimental method you have learned in this course. 

Stults, N. L., et al. (1992). Use of recombinant biotinylated aequorin in microtiter and membrane-based assays Purification of recombinant aequorin from Escherichia coli. Biochemistry 31 1433-1442. 

A review of the chemistry and biochemistry of pyre-thrum is presented based mainly on work done subsequent to 1945. The greatest advances in the chemistry of pyrethrum have occurred since the disclosure of the heterogeneity of pyrethroids. On the biological side, the most recent work has been made possible by the use of chromatographic column separation and gas chromatography separation of the four active components of pyrethrins. 

The book can be used in a one semester course for senior undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in understanding physical aspects of biochemistry and computer modeling of macromolecules. It can also be... 

Abstract This review provides an overview of the development of viral protease inhibitors as antiviral drugs. We concentrate on HlV-1 protease inhibitors, as these have made the most significant advances in the recent past. Thus, we discuss the biochemistry of HlV-1 protease, inhibitor development, clinical use of inhibitors, and evolution of resistance. Since many different viruses encode essential proteases, it is possible to envision the development of a potent protease inhibitor for other viruses if the processing site sequence and the catalytic mechanism are known. At this time, interest in developing inhibitors is Umited to viruses that cause chronic disease, viruses that have the potential to cause large-scale epidemics, or viruses that are sufQciently ubiquitous that treating an acute infection would be... 

The use of protoplasts in studies of stress physiology and biochemistry expands the advantages of cell culture systems discussed in the preceding sections. Additional applications are related to the fusion of protoplasts. Intraspecifie and interspecific protoplast fusion greatly enhance genetic variability of the fused protoplasts (Kumar Cocking, 1987). The resulting somatic hybrids provide cells which can be used for selection of specific traits (e.g. environmental stress tolerance) provided by one or both donor cells and for basic studies on cytoplasmic and nuclear inheritance of desired characteristics. 

Hassall, K.A. (1990). The Biochemistry and Use of Pesticides— Includes a readable account of the biochemistry of herbicides. 

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