Overview of the Physical State of Proteins Within Cells

Abstract Proteins, the end product of gene expression, play a pivotal role in cellular structure and function. To understand how proteins work it is necessary to understand their physical state within the cell. This unit reviews the classification of proteins, how that is related to the hydropathicity of the protein, other factors that affect the heterogeneity of proteins, protein assemblies, methods for altering the solubility of proteins, and limitations of in vitro manipulations of proteins.