And or this?

Question

I am a bit confused about the following sentence:

These proteins were used to enrich and identify specific binders and resulted in the identification of a large number of interactors.

Or would it be better with
These proteins were used to enrich and identify specific binders, and this resulted in the identification of a large number of interactors. (or is , and this = and)?

or

These proteins were used to enrich and identify specific binders. This resulted in the identification of a large number of interactors.

The second part (indentification of a large number of interactors) kind of refers to first (These proteins were used to enrich and identify specific binders), depending on the usage of the (specific) proteins but only the proteins themselves do not result in the ident. of the interactors.

Thanks for your kind help!

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

silver blue 914 These proteins were used to enrich and identify specific binders and resulted in the identification of a large number of interactors.

Not so good. The proteins did not result in anything.

silver blue 914 These proteins were used to enrich and identify specific binders, and this resulted in the identification of a large number of interactors. (or is , and this = and)?

Better. "And this" is a coordinating conjunction introducing a new independent clause with the subject "this". The antecedent of "this" is readily understood to be the whole first clause. This sentence corrects the faulty grammar of the first one.

silver blue 914These proteins were used to enrich and identify specific binders. This resulted in the identification of a large number of interactors.

Best. Too often, a writer tosses in "and" without thinking. It is so neutral and vanilla that we tend to forget it has meaning. In this case, the meaning is not wanted, and it is better to start a new sentence. One problem remains, to my way of thinking. "Resulted in" is rather fluffy for science. It sidesteps the question of how this resulted in anything, aside from considerations of style. I don't know the subject enough to propose a revision, but if I did, it might go like this: "These proteins were used to enrich and identify specific binders. A large number of interactors were identified by isolating the resulting complexes."

And or this?

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