Lecture 4 Flashcards
What is absorbtion
The molecules absorb energy (light) and transition the electrons to new states
Only certain wavelengths of light have the correct energy to transition an election to a higher state
When measuring absorbance what actually absorbs
The biomolecules
Solvent and other molecules
The cuvette
What type of cuvette is used for UV range
Visible range
Quartz (self masking so no stray light passes through the cuvette into the sample)
Normal clear plastic cuvette
What is a nano drop
A machine used to do absorbance reading of very small sample volumes
0.5-2microL of sample
How does the nano drop work
The detector is at the bottom light come in from the top
The sample drop goes directly on detector and the upper arm lowers to touch the drop
The path length can be adjusted so you get enough signal but don’t saturate the detector by easing and lowering the arm
In the nanodrop what do adhesion and cohesion do
Adhesion gives the sample a tug and makes it adhesive to the arm
Cohesion keeps the liquid in a column form
If the arm squishes the sample too much what happens
The sample is too concentrated on the detector
What is the absorbace at 205nm of something
At 280?
The peptide bond
Trp and tyr
What parts of the protein actually absorbs light (chromophores)
Peptide bonds, phe, tyr, trp, his, cystine, amides in asn and gln, carboxylates in asp and glu
C terminus
What other things absorb
Prosthetic groups (non protein part of the protein like a metal, heme)
DNA
What is the wavelength of absorption for a peptide bond
190-230
Peak at 205
Aromatic amino acids absorb at what wavelength
Which absorbs most
280
Trp, tyr and phenylalanine absorbs less
What is the wavelength of visible light
400-700nm
Beers law
A= ECL
What does the absorbance at 205nm tell us
Not dependent on amino acids composition just the peptide bond
The absorbace of the bonds is larger so we can use more dilute samples
