UTILS.
100% in-browser
📊

Protein Molecular Weight & pI Calculator

Compute a protein's molecular weight in Da/kDa and its isoelectric point (pI) from a one-letter amino-acid sequence.

About this tool

The Protein Molecular Weight & pI Calculator is a free, in-browser tool that computes the molecular weight and theoretical isoelectric point of a protein or peptide from its one-letter amino-acid sequence. Paste the sequence and it returns the weight in daltons and kilodaltons, the length in residues, the estimated pI, and the amino-acid composition. All calculation happens locally in your browser and the sequence is never sent anywhere.

Molecular weight is the sum of the 20 standard average residue masses (for example Ala 71.08, Gly 57.05, Trp 186.21 Da) plus 18.02 Da of water for the free N- and C-termini. The isoelectric point is found by writing the net charge as a function of pH with the Henderson–Hasselbalch equation over the ionizable groups — the N-terminus, C-terminus, and the side chains of Asp, Glu, Cys, Tyr, His, Lys, and Arg — using standard pKa values, then bisecting pH between 0 and 14 until the net charge crosses zero.

Positive groups (N-terminus, His, Lys, Arg) contribute 1/(1+10^(pH−pKa)) and negative groups (C-terminus, Asp, Glu, Cys, Tyr) contribute −1/(1+10^(pKa−pH)). The pI is a theoretical estimate; real values shift with temperature, ionic strength, and post-translational modifications, which this sequence-only method does not model.

Frequently asked questions

How is molecular weight computed?
It sums the average residue masses of the 20 amino acids in your sequence and adds 18.02 Da for the terminal water, giving the average molecular weight in daltons; dividing by 1000 gives kilodaltons.
How is the isoelectric point found?
The net charge is written as a sum of Henderson–Hasselbalch terms over the ionizable groups using standard pKa values, then pH is bisected between 0 and 14 to find where the net charge equals zero — that pH is the pI.
Which groups affect the pI?
The N-terminus and C-terminus plus the side chains of aspartate (D), glutamate (E), cysteine (C), tyrosine (Y), histidine (H), lysine (K), and arginine (R). Their counts and pKa values set where the net charge crosses zero.
How accurate is the estimated pI?
It is a theoretical value from sequence alone and typically within a few tenths of a pH unit of measured values. It ignores 3D structure, modifications, temperature, and ionic strength, so treat it as a guide.

More tools