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ERIC Number: EJ1430417
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Jul
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1470-8175
EISSN: EISSN-1539-3429
Detection and Enzymatic Characterization of Human Saliva Amylase
Chiara Theresa Vey; Viola Kaygusuz; Josefa Sophia Kayser; Andreas Beyer
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, v52 n4 p379-385 2024
As a rule, an experiment carried out at school or in undergraduate study courses is rather simple and not very informative. However, when the experiments are to be performed using modern methods, they are often abstract and difficult to understand. Here, we describe a quick and simple experiment, namely the enzymatic characterization of ptyalin (human salivary amylase) using a starch degradation assay. With the experimental setup presented here, enzyme parameters, such as pH optimum, temperature optimum, chloride dependence, and sensitivity to certain chemicals can be easily determined. This experiment can serve as a good model for enzyme characterization in general, as modern methods usually follow the same principle: determination of the activity of the enzyme under different conditions. As different alleles occur in humans, a random selection of test subjects will be quite different with regard to ptyalin activities. Therefore, when the students measure their own ptyalin activity, significant differences will emerge, and this will give them an idea of the genetic diversity in human populations. The evaluation has shown that the pupils have gained a solid understanding of the topic through this experiment.
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A