This document contains summaries of three laboratory assignments: 1) A column chromatography laboratory that taught protein isolation techniques and showed lysozyme purification. 2) A neurobiology workshop that covered the nervous system, neurons, and included a sheep brain dissection. 3) An in-silico drug design workshop where students identified benzene clusters that could bind to and inhibit the HIV protease protein.

1. University of Puerto Rico - Cayey
RISE Program
Template for Laboratory Summaries of Assignment 2 Biol. 4997-Biomedical Techniques
Due date March 9, 2012
Reg.# 5 Name Angélica M. González-Sánchez Date: March 7, 2012.
Paragraph 1. Column Chromatography and SDS - Page
This laboratory was envisioned to teach us about proteins and techniques related to their study. We
learned that it is important to isolate proteins so that we can work with them in their purest form. Pure
proteins can be useful as catalysts, for therapeutics, and for structure studies, among others. They are
usually isolated by very specific techniques that separate them due to differences in density, shape,
charge and size of the proteins, such as column chromatography. In our experiment, we took lysozymes
by filtration of an egg white. We isolated and purified the lysozyme by using column chromatography and
taking several samples of it, each one purer than the one before. After purifying the samples, we
prepared a Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS) – PolyAcrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (PAGE) unit. With
electrophoresis we were able to see that the C1, C2, and C3 samples of our proteins were visible as
single bands. Therefore, we concluded that they were the most purified ones. This implies that these
samples can be used to characterize the proteins in them for further analysis. This can lead to discoveries
in the biochemical field, for example the detection of a protein whose activity promotes the development
of a disease.
Paragraph 2. Workshop MSU – Introduction to Neurobiology
This workshop was proposed to teach us about Neurobiology, one of the most relevant areas for
investigations currently. We learned about the different parts that compose our nervous system, such as
the brain and the spinal cord. We also got acknowledge about neurons, the building blocks of the nervous
system, and their functioning. Later on, we got to apply the concepts that we learned by making a neuron
recreation, testing our sensory system and reflex reactions to different stimuli, listening to the ion channel
diffusion of neurotransmissors in a cockroach leg, and by dissecting a sheep brain and identifying all of its
structures. Consequently, it can be determined that the nervous system is a complex ensemble that has
an essential role in in the survival of organisms due to response to stimuli and normal involuntary
functioning of vital mechanisms. This workshop has huge implications in our lives as scientists because
we are now capable of applying the basic information about Neurobiology to future research work, as for
example investigations about neurological disorders. These kinds of investigations can lead to a better
understanding of diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson.
Paragraph 3. Protein-Protein Interactions
The workshop “In-Silico drug discovery and development” was intended to teach us the basics about
structure based drug design. This is the process of finding new drugs based on the knowledge of the tri-
dimensional structure of a biological target. Such a target can be a protein, as for example HIV protease,
with which we worked. Structure based drug design takes advantage of technology to obtain, process and
convert information about biological targets and chemical compounds. It does so with the use of different
programs and databases, like pdb, AutoDock, Fugu and NanoBio. With this workshop we had the
opportunity to identify a useful target to which the drug, in our case benzene clusters, could bind to inhibit
the harmful activity of the HIV protease. We got to identify 4 potential benzene clusters which had the
highest binding energy and site-specificity to bind effectively to the protein’s binding area. This kind of
investigation is definitely useful for new findings in the pharmacological field, for example the
development of a new and more effective therapeutic alternative for HIV.