Chemical modification
Encyclopedia
In biochemistry
, chemical modification is the technique of chemically reacting a protein
or nucleic acid
with chemical reagents. Chemical modification can have several goals, such as
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
, chemical modification is the technique of chemically reacting a protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
or nucleic acid
Nucleic acid
Nucleic acids are biological molecules essential for life, and include DNA and RNA . Together with proteins, nucleic acids make up the most important macromolecules; each is found in abundance in all living things, where they function in encoding, transmitting and expressing genetic information...
with chemical reagents. Chemical modification can have several goals, such as
- to identify which parts of the molecule are exposed to solvent ("foot printing");
- to determine which residues are important for a particular phenotype, e.g., which residues are important for an enzymatic activity;
- to introduce new groups into a macromolecule; and
- to crosslink macromolecules intra- and intermolecularly.
Chemical modification of protein side chains
- IodoacetamideIodoacetamide2-Iodoacetamide is an alkylating agent used for peptide mapping purposes. Its actions are similar to those of iodoacetate. It is commonly used to bind covalently with the thiol group of cysteine so the protein cannot form disulfide bonds. Also used in ubiquitin studies as an inhibitor of...
- Iodoacetic acid
- PEGylationPEGylationPEGylation is the process of covalent attachment of polyethylene glycol polymer chains to another molecule, normally a drug or therapeutic protein. PEGylation is routinely achieved by incubation of a reactive derivative of PEG with the target macromolecule...
- BisSulfosuccinimidyl suberateBisSulfosuccinimidyl suberateBissulfosuccinimidyl suberate is a crosslinker used in biological research. It is a water-soluble version of disuccinimidyl suberate.- Crosslinkers :...
- 1-Ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide1-Ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimideEDC is a water soluble carbodiimide usually obtained as the hydrochloride. It is typically employed in the 4.0-6.0 pH range. It is generally used as a carboxyl activating agent for the coupling of primary amines to yield amide bonds...
- N-EthylmaleimideN-EthylmaleimideN-Ethylmaleimide is an organic compound that is derived from maleic acid. It contains the imide functional group, but more importantly it is an alkene that is reactive toward thiols and is commonly used to modify cysteine residues in proteins and peptides.-Organic chemistry:In the jargon of...
- Methyl methanethiosulfonate (MMTS)
- MTSLMTSLMTSL is a chemical compound which can be used as a nitroxide paramagnetic spin label in protein Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy experiments. MTSL is attached via a disulfide bond to a cysteine residue, enabling site-directed spin labelling...