Proteins trapped in micelles

Authors

  • Georgina Garza-Ramos Laboratorio de Fisicoquímica e Ingeniería de Proteínas, Facultad de Química, UNAM

Keywords:

micelles, water, proteins, amino acids

Abstract

Phospholipids and amphiphylic detergents dispersed in an apolar solvent and limited quantities of water are spherical aggregates called reverse micelles. The aqueous center of a reverse micelle can accommodate a variety of solutes including macromolecules such as proteins. The water content in the micelle, and thus the amount of water surrounding the protein, can be changed. For over 10 years, Dr. Armando Gómez Puyou and his research group, of which I was part of, were devoted to the study of the role of water in enzyme catalysis and the functional and the structural stability of several enzymes. Due to their unique properties, we use reverse micelles to trap enzymes and investigate the relationship between catalysis and thermostability under limited water conditions. The water effect was also studied in some fundamental biological processes such as protein deamidation and folding.

Author Biography

Georgina Garza-Ramos, Laboratorio de Fisicoquímica e Ingeniería de Proteínas, Facultad de Química, UNAM

Doctora en Investigación Biomédica Básica (Bioquímica), UNAM.

References

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Published

2017-03-15

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 1 (2015): Estructura, función y organización de las proteínas. Un Homenaje al Dr. Armando Gómez Puyou

Section

Tema del mes

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