Date of Award

2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Walstrom, Katherine

Area of Concentration

Chemistry

Abstract

The way aerobic cells produce energy is through ATP synthesis using its mitochondria. The mitochondria synthesize ATP by using proteins on its inner membrane. These proteins make up the electron transport chain and require nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide which comes from the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and glycolysis. In the TCA cycle, malate dehydrogenase is an enzyme used to catalyze the reaction that produces NADH. Once NADH is transferred to the electron transport chain, ATP is synthesized, and molecular oxygen is reduced to water. Sometimes the oxygen isn’t fully reduced, and reactive oxygen species are formed. These species are highly reactive and cause damage to various molecules in the cell. While cells have a protection system in place, it can be overwhelmed by chronic overproduction. The purpose of this project was to observe if the catalytic rate of cMDH would decrease after treatment in hydrogen peroxide. The rate that was measured was the rate of this reaction: Malate + NAD+ oxaloacetate + NADH + H+. A small amount cMDH was treated with various concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (0-3 mM) for 30 minutes, and the catalytic rates were measured. There was no significant decrease in the rate, but there was a significant increase in the rate in one condition. The results of this project were consistent with the suggestion that cMDH acts as a ROS scavenger.

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