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DENATURING
MEMBRANE
PROTEINS
An investigation:
At what temperature do the channel proteins of
a membrane denature?
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Drill out 8 identical cylinders of beetroot with a cork borer, to a length which fits easily into the
available test tubes. You will need to make all cylinders the same length.
Set up 4 different water baths at temperatures between 0c and 75c.
Label 4 test tubes A, B, C & D, according to the temperature of the water baths.
Put distilled water in each of the tubes A, B, C & D. The volume of water is not important as
long as it covers the beetroot tissue. (All you are doing is cooking the beetroot cylinders.)
Place 2 cylinders of beetroot in each of the 4 test tubes.
Place one test tube in each of the water baths for 10 minutes, so that the beetroot tissue is
heated to the temperature of the water bath.
After the 10 minutes of heating, the cylinders of beetroot should be removed from tubes A, B,
C & D and the water thrown away.
While the beetroot samples are heating, collect another 4 test tubes and label them A1, B1, C1
& D1.
Place an identical volume of distilled water in each of the test tubes A1, B1, C1 & D1. The
volume of water must be enough to cover the beetroot samples, but this time it is important that
the volume of water is the same in each tube.
Transfer the beetroot cylinders to their corresponding tubes A1, B1, C1 & D1. The cylinders
will now be covered by distilled water. Leave these samples in a test tube track for a fixed
period of 15 minutes at room temperature. (During this time the pigment betacyanin should
diffuse through the damaged membranes of the beetroot cells. The more denatured are the
proteins, the faster will be the rate of diffusion of the betacyanin.)
After 15 minutes carefully take out the beetroot cylinders and throw them away. Keep the
water! The water contains the pigment which will contain any pigment that has leaked out of
the tissue, through the denatured proteins and is what you will assess.
John Osborne
May 2015