University of Bristol, Department of Medicine Laboratories, Bristol Royal Infirmary, Bristol.
Macromol Biosci. 2010 Jul 7;10(7):693-5. doi: 10.1002/mabi.200900370.
This account deals approximately with the period 1940-1960, in which time Svedberg's invention of the first reliable ultracentrifuge was making a great contribution to developments in physical biochemistry. In the 1930's, only at Uppsala could an ultracentrifuge experiment be conducted, but by the 1960's electrically driven machines-the "Model E"-were widely available, particularly in the USA. The instrument was used extensively to follow fractionation methods for purifying proteins and other biological macromolecules and to determine their sedimentation coefficients and molecular weights. Here the author calls upon some of his own experiences, having been able to work with some of the now-famous contributors to the subject. As an analytical instrument, a good example was the proof by a velocity run that a particular sample of DNA was free of protein. This was essential in allowing the viscosity and titration characteristics to be ascribed to the hydrogen bonds formed between purines and pyrimidines-an observation subsequently proving critical. The Model E was easier to use than the oil-turbine, but discrepancies at first appeared between values for the sedimentation coefficients found from the two machines. These were subsequently resolved when attention was directed to rotor temperature uncertainties.
本文主要讲述了 1940 年至 1960 年间的事情，在此期间，Svedberg 发明的首台可靠超速离心机极大地推动了物理生物化学的发展。20 世纪 30 年代，只有在乌普萨拉才能进行超速离心实验，但到了 20 世纪 60 年代，电动超速离心机（“Model E”）已经广泛应用，尤其是在美国。该仪器广泛用于分离和纯化蛋白质和其他生物大分子的方法，并确定它们的沉降系数和分子量。作者在这里提到了自己的一些亲身经历，因为他曾有幸与一些该领域的知名人士合作。作为一种分析仪器，超速离心机的一个很好的例子是通过速度运行证明了特定的 DNA 样品不含蛋白质。这对于确定黏度和滴定特性归因于嘌呤和嘧啶之间形成的氢键至关重要——这一观察结果后来被证明是至关重要的。Model E 比油涡轮机更容易使用，但起初在两台机器上找到的沉降系数值之间出现了差异。当注意力集中在转子温度不确定度上时，这些差异后来得到了解决。
