Title
Non-Polar Electrical Field Flow Fractionation (Np-EFFF)
Document Type
Student Presentation
Presentation Date
4-15-2013
Faculty Sponsor
Dale Russell
Abstract
The human genome encodes for proteins which are the "machines" that do the work of life. About 2530% of the human genome encodes for membrane proteins and other lipophilic proteins such as those in adipose tissue. These proteins have been understudied because currently available methods of isolating them also alter their conformation and function. We propose to use NpEFFF for the isolation and characterization of these delicate proteins. This method will keep the lipophilic proteins in their native conformation because the solvent is nonpolar and surfactants ("soaps") are not used. The proteins are large enough to have surface charge even in nonpolar medium and this charge is exploited for separating the proteins from each other in an electrical field. The instrument will be described in detail. Particle size standards are used to characterize the instrument and protein samples are then injected for separation. Preliminary separation results will be discussed.