Proteins & Proteomic Analysis

HYDROPHOBIC & HYDROPHILIC PROTEINS

Hydrophobicity & Hydrophilicity

Hydrophobic: Molecules that have a fear, aversion, to water Hydrophilic: Molecules that have a love, high affinity, for water A molecule can have both Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic properties
Proteins Detergents

Detergents
Dual characteristic allow detergents to assume the most energetically favored orientation in either aqueous or nonaqueous hydrocarbon solvents. In aqueous solutions, hydrophobic tails form the core and the hydrophilic heads are exposed Known as Micelles AQUEOUS NON-AQUEOUS Opposite effect in non aqueous solutions

Proteins
Proteins have hydrophilic (charged) and hydrophobic regions Hydrophobic regions are enriched in the amino acids: Phe, Tyr, Trp, Leu, Ile, Met, and Val. Proteins rich in hydrophobic regions are generally membrane bond or membrane proteins

Proteins
Hydrophobic proteins regions tend to seek hydrophobic environments such as lipid membranes Detergents allow solubilization of molecules containing hydrophobic characteristics Protein solubilize within detergent micelles
These offer hydrophobic environments

Classification of Detergents
The charge of the hydrophilic portion determines the class of detergent
Non-ionic - detergent molecules contain no charge. Anionic - detergent molecules contain a negative charge. Cationic - detergent molecules contain a positive charge. Zwitterionic - detergent molecules contain both positive and negative charges.