Mastergrad ved Institutt for biologi NTNU

Navn på hovedveileder: Førsteamanuensis Richard Strimbeck
Navn på biveiledere etc.
Kort ”arbeidstittel” på
oppgaven (Opptil 20 ord)
Kort beskrivelse av
oppgaven (opptil 60 ord)
Grundig beskrivelse
(opptil 300 ord)
Development and implementation of enzyme and lipososme
assays for cryoprotective properties of metabolites and
proteins
1. Measure enzyme activity after freezing 2. Measure leakage
from fluorescein dye filled liposomes after freezing; over a
range of temperatures to develop freezing response curves, with
and without cryoprotective substances.
Numerous substances, including sucrose and other sugars, some
specialized proteins, and some low molecular weight
metabolites, are known or purported to protect proteins, cells, or
tissues from the destructive effects of freezing. While there are
some existing assays for these effects, they are problematic
because they involve enzymes that are not notably freeze-labile
and have not to date been applied across a full range of freezing
treatments to full characterize they nature of the response. I
need to find one or more enzymes that respond to freezing and
improve on an existing liposome assay so that I can use these
assays to characterize the cryoprotective properties of proteins
extracted from super frost tolerant Siberian spruce and other
species. The student will also gain experience in data analysis
using non-linear curve fitting. The work might also extend to
using Modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) to
quantify glass transitions in sugar-protein mixtures. The results
of this work may ultimately lead to improvements in techniques
for frozen and dried preservation of biological materials.
Lenke 1 http://www.bio.ntnu.no/users/strimbec/Home.html
Lenke 2
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