The Journal of General Physiology, Vol 19, 199-210,
Copyright © 1935 by The Rockefeller University Press
THE DENATURATION OF EGG ALBUMIN BY ULTRA-VIOLET RADIATION
Janet Howell Clark 1
1 From the School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore
The coagulation of isoelectric egg albumin solutions, on exposure to ultraviolet radiation, involves three distinct processes, (1) the light denaturation of the albumin molecule, (2) a reaction between the light denatured molecule and water which may be similar to heat denaturation but occurs at a lower temperature, and (3), the flocculation of the denatured molecules to form a coagulum. The light denaturation is unimolecular, independent of temperature, and occurs over a wide pH range. The reaction between the light denatured molecule and water has a temperature coefficient of 10+ and occurs rapidly at 40°C., a temperature at which heat denaturation is inappreciable.
Accepted on April 9, 1935