Tools of Biochemistry

Biochemistry is the branch of dynamic science that explores the chemical processes within living organisms/ systems. The study of Biochemistry aims to understand how all the molecules that constitute living organisms interact, to maintain and perpetuate life. It deals with the complexity of living organisms, the microscopic and macroscopic structures within organisms that have specific functions and their systems for extracting and transforming energy from the environment. Perhaps the single most important technique in unravelling the complexities of metabolism has been the use of isotopes (heavy or radioactive elements) in labelling biological compounds and “tracing” their fate in metabolism. Measurement of the isotope-labelled compounds has required considerable technology in mass spectroscopy and radioactive detection devices. A variety of other physical techniques, such as nuclear magnetic resonance, electron spin spectroscopy, circular dichroism, and X-ray crystallography, have become prominent tools in revealing the relation of chemical structure to biological function. The biochemistry utilizes in practice a whole series of methods and laboratory techniques to meet quantitative and qualitative insights into biochemical processes. Main areas here are the isolation, purification and characterization of biomolecules, analytical and test methods, structure determination, etc. This book is deals basic techniques in contemporary biochemical and molecular biological studies. Examines the theoretical aspect of each technique and provides a section for its use in a carefully controlled experiment. Experiments, written in computer program format, conclude with the data that should be obtained if experiments are performed properly.