What does dialysis achieve in a biochemical process?

Prepare for the UofT BCH210H1 Biochemistry I midterm with exam-like questions. Access detailed solutions and explanations for proteins, lipids, and metabolism topics. Strengthen your understanding and excel on test day!

Dialysis is a technique widely used in biochemistry to separate small molecules from larger molecules such as proteins. The process involves placing a solution in a semi-permeable membrane bag that allows small solutes and solvent to pass through, while retaining larger molecules like proteins. This selectively exploits the size difference, allowing for the effective separation of undesirable small molecules, such as salts or small metabolites, from the target protein of interest.

In this context, the primary achievement of dialysis is the selective separation of large proteins from small molecules, making option B the correct answer. By doing so, it facilitates the purification of proteins, which is critical for various downstream applications such as enzyme assays, structural studies, and therapeutic formulations. Other options may describe effects related to dialysis, but they do not accurately capture the specific mechanism and purpose of the dialysis process itself.

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