Project Director

Sánchez Díaz, Luis Enrique

Department Examiner

Kovach, Margaret; Alda, Fernando

Department

Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

Healthy levels of potassium chloride (KCl) can significantly affect the workings of the cholesterol level of the human body and how they pertain to an individual person. The search for a better salt additive for the human diet can provide a better option for people who experience high cholesterol levels and heart disease. The study focuses on the experimental design of the Molecular Dynamic (MD) simulation of the Apolipoprotein A1 (APOA1) in the potassium ion solution environment to determine the stability and folding of the protein. The study also compares its data to the previous experimental design of chloride ions to determine the stability and folding of APOA1. The simulations revealed that the potassium ion solution environment makes APOA1 stable, but it does not fold, unlike the chloride ion solution system that makes the protein stable and fold. The hypothesis of the research was proven wrong, due to the initial thought that the APOA1 would fold in the experimental conditions of potassium ions solution. However, there might be more to the behavior of the APOA1 if the potassium and chloride ions were together in the solution for the future experimental designs to help understand how the proper ions mix can still stimulate protein folding along with the stability to produce healthy cholesterol levels in the human body.

Degree

B. S.; An honors thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Science.

Date

5-2021

Subject

Apolipoproteins; Molecular dynamics; Protein folding

Keyword

Apolipoprotein A1; APOA1; GROMACS; Molecular Dynamic (MD); Potassium chloride; Protein folding

Discipline

Biochemistry | Physical Chemistry

Document Type

Theses

Extent

50 leaves

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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