An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. hydrogen ion, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis acid.
In chemistry, amines are compounds and functional groups that contain a basic nitrogen atom with a lone pair. Amines are formally derivatives of ammonia, wherein one or more hydrogen atoms have been replaced by a substituent such as an alkyl or aryl group. Important amines include amino acids, biogenic amines, trimethylamine, and aniline. Inorganic derivatives of ammonia are also called amines, such as monochloramine.
In biochemistry, denaturation is a process in which proteins or nucleic acids lose the quaternary structure, tertiary structure, and secondary structure which is present in their native state, by application of some external stress or compound such as a strong acid or base, a concentrated inorganic salt, an organic solvent, agitation and radiation or heat. If proteins in a living cell are denatured, this results in disruption of cell activity and possibly cell death. Protein denaturation is also a consequence of cell death. Denatured proteins can exhibit a wide range of characteristics, from conformational change and loss of solubility to aggregation due to the exposure of hydrophobic groups. The loss of solubility as a result of denaturation is called coagulation. Denatured proteins lose their 3D structure and therefore cannot function.
The term chloride refers either to a chloride ion, which is a negatively charged chlorine atom, or a non-charged chlorine atom covalently bonded to the rest of the molecule by a single bond. Many inorganic chlorides are salts. Many organic compounds are chlorides. The pronunciation of the word "chloride" is.
In organic chemistry, isothiocyanate is the functional group −N=C=S, formed by substituting the oxygen in the isocyanate group with a sulfur. Many natural isothiocyanates from plants are produced by enzymatic conversion of metabolites called glucosinolates. These natural isothiocyanates, such as allyl isothiocyanate, are also known as mustard oils. An artificial isothiocyanate, phenyl isothiocyanate, is used for amino acid sequencing in the Edman degradation.
In organic chemistry, a carbamate is a category of organic compounds with the general formula R2NC(O)OR and structure >N−C(=O)−O−, which are formally derived from carbamic acid. The term includes organic compounds, formally obtained by replacing one or more of the hydrogen atoms by other organic functional groups; as well as salts with the carbamate anion H2NCOO−.
A chaotropic agent is a molecule in water solution that can disrupt the hydrogen bonding network between water molecules. This has an effect on the stability of the native state of other molecules in the solution, mainly macromolecules by weakening the hydrophobic effect. For example, a chaotropic agent reduces the amount of order in the structure of a protein formed by water molecules, both in the bulk and the hydration shells around hydrophobic amino acids, and may cause its denaturation.
In chemistry, a trimer is a molecule or polyatomic anion formed by combination or association of three molecules or ions of the same substance. In technical jargon, a trimer is a kind of oligomer derived from three identical precursors often in competition with polymerization.
Amidines are organic compounds with the functional group RC(NR)NR2, where the R groups can be the same or different. They are the imine derivatives of amides (RC(O)NR2). The simplest amidine is formamidine, HC(=NH)NH2.
A superbase is a compound that has a particularly high affinity for protons. Superbases are of theoretical interest and potentially valuable in organic synthesis. Superbases have been described and used since the 1850s.
Diazonium compounds or diazonium salts are a group of organic compounds sharing a common functional group [R−N+≡N]X− where R can be any organic group, such as an alkyl or an aryl, and X is an inorganic or organic anion, such as a halide.
Guanidinium thiocyanate(GTC) or guanidinium isothiocyanate (GITC) is a chemical compound used as a general protein denaturant, being a chaotropic agent, although it is most commonly used as a nucleic acid protector in the extraction of DNA and RNA from cells.
Cyanogen bromide is the inorganic compound with the formula (CN)Br or BrCN. It is a colorless solid that is widely used to modify biopolymers, fragment proteins and peptides, and synthesize other compounds. The compound is classified as a pseudohalogen.
Iodine compounds are compounds containing the element iodine. Iodine can form compounds using multiple oxidation states. Iodine is quite reactive, but it is much less reactive than the other halogens. For example, while chlorine gas will halogenate carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, and sulfur dioxide, iodine will not do so. Furthermore, iodination of metals tends to result in lower oxidation states than chlorination or bromination; for example, rhenium metal reacts with chlorine to form rhenium hexachloride, but with bromine it forms only rhenium pentabromide and iodine can achieve only rhenium tetraiodide. By the same token, however, since iodine has the lowest ionisation energy among the halogens and is the most easily oxidised of them, it has a more significant cationic chemistry and its higher oxidation states are rather more stable than those of bromine and chlorine, for example in iodine heptafluoride.
Acid guanidinium thiocyanate-phenol-chloroform extraction is a liquid–liquid extraction technique in biochemistry. It is widely used in molecular biology for isolating RNA. This method may take longer than a column-based system such as the silica-based purification, but has higher purity and the advantage of high recovery of RNA: an RNA column is typically unsuitable for purification of short RNA species, such as siRNA, miRNA, gRNA and tRNA.
Phosphazenes refer to classes of organophosphorus compounds featuring phosphorus(V) with a double bond between P and N. One class of phosphazenes have the formula R−N=P(−NR2)3. These phosphazenes are also known as iminophosphoranes and phosphine imides. They are superbases. Another class of compounds called phosphazenes are represented with the formula (−N=P 2−)n, where X = halogen, alkoxy group, amide and other organyl groups. One example is hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene (−N=P 2−)3. Bis(triphenylphosphine)iminium chloride [Ph3P=N=PPh3]+Cl−is also referred to as a phosphazene, where Ph = phenyl group. This article focuses on those phosphazenes with the formula R−N=P(−NR2)3.
In molecular biology, Proteinase K is a broad-spectrum serine protease. The enzyme was discovered in 1974 in extracts of the fungus Parengyodontium album. Proteinase K is able to digest hair (keratin), hence, the name "Proteinase K". The predominant site of cleavage is the peptide bond adjacent to the carboxyl group of aliphatic and aromatic amino acids with blocked alpha amino groups. It is commonly used for its broad specificity. This enzyme belongs to Peptidase family S8 (subtilisin). The molecular weight of Proteinase K is 28,900 daltons.
Guanidinium chloride or guanidine hydrochloride, usually abbreviated GdmCl and sometimes GdnHCl or GuHCl, is the hydrochloride salt of guanidine.
Ammonium thiocyanate is an inorganic compound with the formula [NH4]+[SCN]−. It is an ammonium salt of thiocyanic acid. It consists of ammonium cations [NH4]+ and thiocyanate anions [SCN]−.
Phenol–chloroform extraction is a liquid-liquid extraction technique in molecular biology used to separate nucleic acids from proteins and lipids.
