Preservation of cyt. c solns

[jopa at ac.dal.ca]

In article <1993May6.181637.23233 at yang.earlham.edu>, davidw at yang.earlham.edu writes:
> 
> 1.  Is bacteria really a threat to the protein?
> 2.  If not bacteria, what will damage the protein?
> 3.  What is the best way to store the solution for short periods of time
> (a few days at a time)?
> 

   I work with Cyt c regularly, although mine are
yeast derived mutants.  We generally just keep the
solutions at -20c when we are not using them, 
I haven't noticed any problems.  After doing redox
potentials or other assays where the cyt c is
recoverable, we regenerate it by lyophilizing and
then desalting into 50 mM KPO4.

   I know that storage at pH 11 can lead to degeneration, 
but I believe this is more chemical (since the protein
is denatured).  In general, I just make sure all my 
solutions are at a reasonable pH (~7) and thawed for
as little as possible.

Jonathan Parrish
Department of Biochemistry
Dalhousie University
Halifax, N.S., Canada

> 
> David Weis                              davidw at yang.earlham.edu