What is the purpose of Edman degradation?

Edman degradation is a specific method used to determine the amino acid sequence of proteins. The process involves sequentially removing one residue at a time from the N-terminus of the protein. This is achievable through a series of chemical reactions that allows for the identification of each amino acid as it is released from the chain.

By cleaving the protein at the N-terminus, Edman degradation provides valuable information about the sequence of amino acids, which is critical for understanding protein structure, function, and interactions. This technique can be particularly useful for analyzing small peptides and proteins where precise sequencing is needed.

The other options do not describe the primary purpose of Edman degradation. While identifying protein concentration, measuring protein mass, and separating proteins based on charge are all important techniques in biochemistry, they do not relate to the sequential analysis of the amino acid sequence that Edman degradation specifically provides.