Life Science Dictionary10 terms

Proteomics Terms

Proteomics studies the full set of proteins in a cell or organism: which are present, how much of each, and how they change. These terms cover protein structure and folding, the chemical changes made to proteins, and lab methods such as SDS-PAGE, western blotting and mass spectrometry.

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I

Isoelectric focusingProteomicsIsoelectric focusing is a technique that separates proteins by their isoelectric point, the pH at which a protein carries no net electric charge.

M

Mass spectrometryProteomicsMass spectrometry is an analytical technique that turns molecules into charged ions and sorts them by mass-to-charge ratio to identify and measure them.

P

Q

Quaternary structureBiochemistryQuaternary structure is the way two or more folded polypeptide chains, called subunits, fit together to form a single working protein.

S

SDS-PAGEProteomicsSDS-PAGE is a lab technique that separates proteins by size, coating them in a charged detergent and pulling them through a gel with an electric field.

W

Western blotProteomicsA Western blot is a laboratory method that detects a specific protein in a sample by separating proteins by size on a gel and probing them with antibodies.

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