Hemoglobin Lab Report

It was hypothesized that if the animal was larger, then it would have larger hemoglobin. It was thought that larger mammals would need more oxygen-rich hemoglobin to support healthy function. This lab did not support this hypothesis. The results in table 1 displayed that the hemoglobin of all mammalian samples traveled about the same distance. This trend can be seen in graph 1 as the mammalian hemoglobin samples migrated the same distance. Because the proteins traveled around the same distance it means that the hemoglobin must weigh about the same. The results display that mammals have hemoglobin with homologous molecular weights.
Pure bovine hemoglobin was used as the control for this experiment. The control was used so that hemoglobin from the mammalian samples could be compared and identified. Hemoglobin is a protein found in red blood cells and is made up of four subunits consisting of two alpha and two beta chains. Hemoglobin also contains heme groups which contains iron. Hemoglobin's main function is the transporting oxygen and carbon dioxide. The oxygen binds with the positively charged iron to be transported through the blood.
Another integral protein in the cardiovascular system is carbonic anhydrase. Carbonic anhydrase is an enzyme that is found in red blood cells and catalyzes the reaction in which carbon dioxide mixes with water to become carbonic acid. Carbonic anhydrase buffers blood by creating carbonic acid and making the pH of the blood more acidic. The body responds by making hemoglobin release oxygen to change the pH back to normal levels. The one unifying trait of carbonic anhydrase is a zinc cation that breaks water apart in the reaction to form hydrogen