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Specific Activity quiz

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  • What does 'activity' measure in the context of protein purification?
    Activity is a quantitative measure of both the function and the amount of a specific target protein.
  • What is an assay used for during protein purification?
    An assay is used to measure both the presence and the activity of a target protein in a sample.
  • If two samples have equal activity, what does this indicate about the amount of target protein?
    It indicates that both samples have equal amounts of the target protein.
  • Does activity alone tell you how pure a protein sample is?
    No, activity alone does not indicate protein purity; it only measures the amount and function of the target protein.
  • What is specific activity in protein purification?
    Specific activity is the ratio of the target protein's activity to the total amount of protein present in the sample.
  • How does specific activity change during the purification process?
    Specific activity increases with each purification step, indicating greater protein purity.
  • What does a constant specific activity indicate about a protein sample?
    A constant specific activity indicates that the protein is pure and further purification does not increase purity.
  • Why does total protein decrease during purification steps?
    Total protein decreases because non-target proteins are removed, making the sample more pure.
  • What happens to the target protein activity during purification, and why?
    Target protein activity usually decreases somewhat because some loss of the target protein is inevitable during purification.
  • How do you calculate specific activity?
    Specific activity is calculated by dividing the activity of the target protein by the total amount of protein in the sample.
  • Why is maximizing specific activity important in protein purification?
    Maximizing specific activity ensures that the protein sample is as pure as possible, even if some target protein is lost.
  • If two flasks have the same amount of target protein but different total protein, which has higher specific activity?
    The flask with less total protein has higher specific activity, indicating greater purity of the target protein.
  • What does a higher specific activity tell you about a protein sample?
    A higher specific activity means the protein sample is more pure.
  • What is the goal of protein purification in terms of specific activity?
    The goal is to maximize specific activity, which reflects the highest possible purity of the target protein.
  • What does it mean if specific activity does not increase after a purification step?
    It means the protein is pure, and further purification will not increase its purity.