Editing Protein (section)

===Protein purification===

{{Main|Protein purification}}

Proteins may be [[protein purification|purified]] from other cellular components using a variety of techniques such as [[ultracentrifugation]], [[Precipitation (chemistry)|precipitation]], [[electrophoresis]], and [[chromatography]];<ref name = "Murray_2006" />{{rp|21–24}} the advent of [[genetic engineering]] has made possible a number of methods to facilitate purification.<ref name=Terpe2003/>

To perform ''[[in vitro]]'' analysis, a protein must be purified away from other cellular components. This process usually begins with [[cytolysis|cell lysis]], in which a cell's membrane is disrupted and its internal contents released into a solution known as a [[crude lysate]]. The resulting mixture can be purified using [[ultracentrifugation]], which fractionates the various cellular components into fractions containing soluble proteins; membrane [[lipid]]s and proteins; cellular [[organelle]]s, and [[nucleic acid]]s. [[Precipitation (chemistry)|Precipitation]] by a method known as [[salting out]] can concentrate the proteins from this lysate. Various types of [[chromatography]] are then used to isolate the protein or proteins of interest based on properties such as molecular weight, net charge and binding affinity.<ref name = "Murray_2006" />{{rp|21–24}} The level of purification can be monitored using various types of [[gel electrophoresis]] if the desired protein's molecular weight and [[isoelectric point]] are known, by [[spectroscopy]] if the protein has distinguishable spectroscopic features, or by [[enzyme assay]]s if the protein has enzymatic activity. Additionally, proteins can be isolated according to their charge using [[electrofocusing]].<ref name=Hey2008/>

For natural proteins, a series of purification steps may be necessary to obtain protein sufficiently pure for laboratory applications. To simplify this process, [[genetic engineering]] is often used to add chemical features to proteins that make them easier to purify without affecting their structure or activity. Here, a "tag" consisting of a specific amino acid sequence, often a series of [[histidine]] residues (a "[[His-tag]]"), is attached to one terminus of the protein. As a result, when the lysate is passed over a chromatography column containing [[nickel]], the histidine residues ligate the nickel and attach to the column while the untagged components of the lysate pass unimpeded. A number of tags have been developed to help researchers purify specific proteins from complex mixtures.<ref name=Terpe2003/>