CHED 771 |
| Peanut allergy is the most serious of common food allergies and affects approximately 1.5 million people in the United States. Of all food-induced allergic reactions that result in death, the majority are caused by eating peanuts or peanut products. Activated charcoal is commonly given as a method of gastric decontamination in emergency rooms, but only in cases of poison or drug ingestion. This research is designed to investigate the efficacy of using activated charcoal to adsorb peanut proteins to prevent their interaction with the gastrointestinal immune system. Soluble protein was extracted from chopped peanut and incubated with activated charcoal under various conditions. After removal of the charcoal along with any bound protein by centrifugation, the resulting solution was analyzed for remaining soluble protein by gel electrophoresis and quantitative protein assay. Factors affecting the rate and extent of protein binding to activated charcoal were determined. |
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Undergraduate Research Poster Session: Biochemistry
2:00 PM-4:00 PM, Monday, April 7, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Hall A, Poster
Division of Chemical Education |