Changes in the secondary structure and aggregation of concanavalin A (Con A) were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The secondary structure of Con A has been shown to be affected by factors such as temperature, pH, ionic strength, pressure and the presence of sugars. DSC studies indicated that the thermal stability of Con A is enhanced in the presence of salts, sugars and by pH. Detailed examination of the conformation-sensitive amide I band in the FTIR spectrum of Con A revealed that concentration, sugars, metal ions and pressure (range from 0-14.4 kbar) had no effect on the structural conformation of Con A at room temperature. Variable-temperature FTIR studies of the thermal stability of Con A as a function of pH showed that maximum thermal stability is achieved under alkaline conditions (pH 8-10). It was also found that sugars enhanced the thermal stability of Con A to varying degrees and that the stabilizing effect of the sugar was not dependent on the sugar binding specificity of the lectin.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.22833 |
| Date | January 1995 |
| Creators | Zhao, Yue |
| Contributors | Ismail, A. A. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001467869, proquestno: MM05657, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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