The osmotic stress technique is a method for measuring the effect of water on biological molecules, particularly enzymes. Just as the properties of molecules can depend on the presence of salts, pH, and temperature, they can depend significantly on the amount of water present. In the osmotic stress technique, flexible neutral polymers such as polyethylene glycol and dextran are added to the solution containing the molecule of interest, replacing a significant part of the water. The amount of water replaced is characterized by the chemical activity of water.
Famous quotes containing the words osmotic, stress and/or technique:
“Life begins at six—at least in the minds of six-year-olds. . . . In kindergarten you are the baby. In first grade you put down the baby. . . . Every first grader knows in some osmotic way that this is real life. . . . First grade is the first step on the way to a place in the grown-up world.”
—Stella Chess (20th century)
“Like all weak men he laid an exaggerated stress on not changing one’s mind.”
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1966)
“Irony in writing is a technique for increasing reader self- approval.”
—Jessamyn West (1907–1984)