Question

Give the significance/role/effect of the reagent/condition in the isolation or analysis of a biomolecule. Keeping the sample refrigerated or frozen prior to glycogen isolation

Answer 1

Role of reagent in the isolation or analysis of Glycogen

• The  glycogen isolation is done by using the reagents such as potassium hydroxide, ethanol, and trichloroacetic acid (TCA) for alkaline hydrolysis.
• Glycogen isolation involves some human disorders that affect the metabolism of glycogen in the body.
• Glycogen structure consists of αα -1,4 glycosidic bonds in is main chain. When compared to amylopectin it has αα - 1,6 glycosidic bonds.
• In glycogen metabolism, the role of KOH, is that it hydrolyzes proteins, lipids, and RNA present in the sample.
•  The role of TCA in glycogen isolation is that it removes a relatively constant amount of glycogen from homogenized liver tissue and removes somewhat less than the total amount present as determined by the usual hot alkali method of extraction from muscle tissue.
• Glycogen is relatively stable and unaffected when compared to other macromolecules during the addition of alkali.
• The glycogen can be hydrolyzed by a strong acid or under an acidic environment.
• The role of ethanol is that glycogen is insoluble so it forms polymer structure and traps the nucleic acids and forms pellet with nucleic acids trapped during the centrifugation.

Biomolecule

• Biomolecule, also called biological molecule, is molecule that presents in organisms which are necessary to one or more biological processes, such as cell division, morphogenesis, or development.
• Biomolecules include  macromolecules or polyanions, such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and nucleic acids.
• It also includes micro molecules such as primary metabolites, secondary metabolites and natural products. 
• The methods involving the isolation of biomolecules include centrifugation, filtration, absorption and chromatography.