The pI of hen lysozyme is 11.0; the pI of hen ovalbumin is 4.6. An isoelectric focussing experiment is conducted. Which of these two proteins will migrate closest to the negative pole?
Hen lysozyme (proteins migrate from positively charged terminal to negatively charged terminal)
In isoelectric focusing, proteins move towards the electrode that corresponds to the pH value where the overall charge of the protein is zero. At a pH below its pI, a protein carries a net positive charge, and conversely, at a pH above its pI, a protein carries a net negative charge.
In this case, hen lysozyme has a pI of 11.0, which means it carries a net positive charge at pH values below 11.0 and a net negative charge at pH values above 11.0. Conversely, hen ovalbumin has a pI of 4.6, which means it carries a net positive charge at pH values below 4.6 and a net negative charge at pH values above 4.6.
Since the isoelectric point for hen lysozyme is higher than the isoelectric point for hen ovalbumin, hen lysozyme will migrate closest to the negative pole during the isoelectric focusing experiment. Therefore, it will be separated from hen ovalbumin based on their charges by the isoelectric focusing experiment.
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