Effect of Heat on Muscle Protein Detection by Gel Electrophoresis

Name: David Lam

Class: BE 210

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Hypotheses

Major: The microwave-heated gel will have a higher band contrast, or a greater difference in pixel values between protein band and gel, than the non-heated gel.

Minor: The standard deviation of the concentration of the selected protein derived from the microwave-heated gel will be lower than that of the non-heated gel.

Experimental Goals

1. Quantify mammalian muscle protein by gel electrophoresis.
2. Test the effect of heat on protein gel staining and destaining.

Educational Goals

1. Learn the molecular biology technique of gel electrophoresis including its function and applications.
2. Become familiar with protein structure and size, and how this can be exploited and quantified through electrophoresis.