Roche Allred Zahilyn D, Tai Heeyoung, Bretz Stacey Lowery, Page Richard C
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, 45056.
Biochem Mol Biol Educ. 2017 Nov;45(6):528-536. doi: 10.1002/bmb.21066. Epub 2017 May 24.
Students' understandings of foundational concepts such as noncovalent interactions, pH and pK are crucial for success in undergraduate biochemistry courses. We developed a guided-inquiry activity to aid students in making connections between noncovalent interactions and pH/pK . Students explore these concepts by examining the primary and tertiary structures of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Protein A. Students use PyMOL, an open source molecular visualization application, to (1) identify hydrogen bonds and salt bridges between and within the proteins at physiological pH and (2) apply their knowledge of pH/pK to association rate constant data for these proteins at pH 4 and pH 11. The laboratory activity was implemented within a one semester biochemistry laboratory for students majoring in allied health disciplines, engineering, and biological sciences. Several extensions for more advanced students are discussed. Students' overall performance highlighted their ability to successfully complete tasks such as labeling and identifying noncovalent interactions and revealed difficulties with analyzing noncovalent interactions under varying pH/pK conditions. Students' evaluations after completing the activity indicated they felt challenged but also recognized the potential of the activity to help them gain meaningful understanding of the connections between noncovalent interactions, pH, pK , and protein structure. © 2017 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(6):528-536, 2017.
学生对非共价相互作用、pH值和pK等基础概念的理解对于本科生物化学课程的成功至关重要。我们开发了一项引导式探究活动，以帮助学生建立非共价相互作用与pH值/pK之间的联系。学生通过研究免疫球蛋白G（IgG）和蛋白A的一级和三级结构来探索这些概念。学生使用开源分子可视化应用程序PyMOL来（1）识别生理pH值下蛋白质之间和内部的氢键和盐桥，以及（2）将他们对pH值/pK的知识应用于这些蛋白质在pH 4和pH 11时的缔合速率常数数据。该实验室活动在一个学期的生物化学实验室中实施，面向健康相关学科、工程和生物科学专业的学生。讨论了针对更高级学生的几个扩展内容。学生的总体表现突出了他们成功完成诸如标记和识别非共价相互作用等任务的能力，同时也揭示了在不同pH值/pK条件下分析非共价相互作用时存在的困难。学生在完成活动后的评价表明，他们感到具有挑战性，但也认识到该活动有助于他们对非共价相互作用、pH值、pK和蛋白质结构之间的联系获得有意义理解的潜力。© 2017年由国际生物化学与分子生物学联盟出版，45(6):528 - 536，2017年。
