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SDS PAGE question

Started by neplina
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neplina

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This question seems simple but im not sure what im missing here. The passage states that the enzyme is active as a homotetramer. It is subjected to SDS page which "confirmed the purity and showed an active band at 35 kda"

It asks for the molecular weight of the compound.

The ans is 140kDa. I thought the answer would be 35 kda because the SDS page only shows one band, so i assumed thats the combined weight of the homotetramer. Why is my reasoning flawed?
 
This question seems simple but im not sure what im missing here. The passage states that the enzyme is active as a homotetramer. It is subjected to SDS page which "confirmed the purity and showed an active band at 35 kda"

It asks for the molecular weight of the compound.

The ans is 140kDa. I thought the answer would be 35 kda because the SDS page only shows one band, so i assumed thats the combined weight of the homotetramer. Why is my reasoning flawed?

It’s a homotetramer. That means there are 4 parts, and they are all the same. So you are getting the weight of one of those parts. Since they are all the same, you just multiply by 4.