An Inquiry into the Topology of Caveolin-1 through Multiple Approaches

Abstract This thesis is pursuant to honors designation for a Bachelors of Science in Biochemistry. We will begin our discussion with outlining the major organelles of the eukaryotic cell and a discussion about the plasma membrane. Through discussion of the plasma membrane we can naturally progress into a discussion of caveolae and caveolin, two major components of the eukaryotic cell membrane and the subject of original research performed in the Glover Lab. The focus of this research is discerning the elusive topology of caveolin-1 as it sits on the membrane. Through two methods, we seek to elucidate this complex topology. Both techniques serve as an evolution of substituted cysteine accessibility method (SCAM), with one technique based in a low-molecular weight probe that covalently attaches and another based in IR-spectroscopy. We will find that the low-molecular weight probe does not meet its promises of being a stable binder and are in preliminary data collection for our probe based in IR-spectroscopy.