On Wed, 12 Jun 1996, M.C. Bean wrote:
[...]
> In our laboratory we are currently using streptomycin sulfate to precipitate
> membranes as part of a purification procedure. This certainly seems to work
> and is mentioned passing is a couple of papers we have. The trouble is we
> don't have any idea why it works. Does anyone out there know? Are there any
> papers describing the mechanism?
[...]
I cannot offer an answer but only another question. Streptomycin sulfate
can also be used to precipitate DNA. Myself and a colleague attempted to
divine how this would work since DNA is itself a negatively charged
molecule under the general conditions used for the precipitation. I can
try to re-examine the conditions of the precipitation (perhaps they
favor complex formation between DNA, Na, and strep sulfate?) but if
anyone can answer the question - what is the mechanism of strep sulfate
precipitation of DNA? - I would be grateful.
patrick
