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Understanding protein stability is key to gaining insights into the function and regulatory roles of a molecule.
Therefore, any scientist characterizing proteins would be interested in monitoring protein stability. Whether you are in
an academic or an industry setting, knowing the stability of your sample preparation or being able to better optimize
the processing of your samples will greatly enhance research workflows.
Academia
Academic researchers benefit from characterizing protein stability when they are seeking to describe the cellular
pathways that contribute to both normal function and disease in target molecules. They might, for instance,
manipulate the electrochemical properties in the environment, such as by altering the pH, temperature, or denaturant
composition, to see how the cellular process is impacted.
From this information, researchers can determine which proteins are most affected by the altered environment and
identify potential candidates to examine more closely. In other cases, scientists may examine the effect of introducing
misfolded proteins on a cellular process as a model for studying diseases causally associated with protein aggregation.
Ultimately, the academic study of protein stability will lead to an understanding of the molecular basis for certain
diseases, and subsequently, industry researchers can use these data to develop effective therapeutic drugs.
Why is measuring
protein stability necessary?
