Taste protein

2000/04/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Biokimika

From amoebas to humans, all living beings use 20 amino acids to form proteins.

Proteins are formed by chains of amino acids joined in row, although later they present complex three-dimensional forms. In nature there are 20 different amino acids that combined in one way or another form all the proteins of all living beings.

The three-dimensional structure of the protein and the role to play depends on each other, and some diseases are related to incorrect protein structures. Therefore, the three-dimensional structure of proteins is an important research. Although proteins have previously been made with artificial amino acids, a Japanese researcher has managed for the first time to develop the desired artificial amino acid protein training technique.

The aim of the researcher is to incorporate fluorescent amino acids into proteins, in order to evaluate how the three-dimensional structures of the protein are formed and modified by measuring the relative distances and positions between them.