Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Kinetics Of The Decomposition Of The Cupric Ion Sulfhydryl Bond In Beef Plasma Albumin, Gary Rice

Honors Theses

The purpose of this work was to study the kinetics of the binding of cupric ion to beef plasma albumin, in particular the decomposition of the Cu++--BPA complex which absorbs light at 375 millimicrons.

The work of Klotz, Urquhart, Klotz, and Ayers has shown that the characteristic absorption band at 375 mu produced by the binding of cupric ion to beef plasma albumin is due to a copper- sulfhydryl bond. They have further demonstrated that the disappearance of this absorption band with time is accompanied by irreversible changes in the structure of the protein. The intensity of the initial absorption …