Henry Jakubowski
THE COLLEGE OF SAINT BENEDICT/SAINT JOHN'S
UNIVERSITY
THROMBIN RESEARCH PROJECT
My main interest of research, which has been funded by Research
Corporation and the NIH, involves determining structural features
of the bovine clotting enzyme thrombin which control its
reactivity with other clotting factors in the blood. This work
involves purification and characterization of many proteins from
bovine blood and lungs, synthesis of peptides (by manual solid
state techniques) and characterization (by chemical and
chromatographic techniques), and the production of rabbit
antibody fragments recognizing thrombin. Kinetic analyses of
thrombin activities are routinely used to monitor changes in
thrombin reactivity. Computer modeling of these structural
features is also used. Students will acquire excellent
experience in the purification and characterization of proteins,
and in the development of immunoassays.