20-Bio-B10 Biomechanical Device Design & Human Factors: May 2015

Paper format: National Exams, May 2015 — 04-Bio-B10 Analytical Biochemistry. Three hours, closed book, any non-communicating calculator. Six questions of equal value (20 marks each); five constitute a complete paper and only the first five appearing in the answer book are marked. All six are solved here, because this set is a study resource rather than an examination script. Every question is essay/descriptive (technique principle, interpretation of an instrument trace or image) rather than numerical, except Question 2(d), which asks for a short exponential-growth calculation from PCR cycle theory.

Reference texts (the books a candidate should have reviewed for this subject):

• J. Sambrook & D. W. Russell, Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 3rd ed. — chs. on SDS-PAGE and protein electrophoresis, PCR, and immunodetection.
• K. Wilson & J. Walker (eds.), Principles and Techniques of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 8th ed. — chs. on electrophoretic techniques, PCR, chromatography (ion-exchange and reverse-phase HPLC), and flow cytometry.
• D. A. Skoog, F. J. Holler & S. R. Crouch, Principles of Instrumental Analysis, 7th ed. — chs. on infrared/FTIR spectroscopy, scanning-probe (atomic force) microscopy, and HPLC.
• B. Alberts et al., Molecular Biology of the Cell, 6th ed. — supporting background on antibody structure and recombinant protein handling.

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