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Article: Denaturation
- Article from:
- Chemistry: Foundations and Applications
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Denaturation
Protein molecules carry out many important tasks in living systems. Most important, the majority of proteins are quite specific about which task they perform. Protein structure is what dictates this specificity, and the three-dimensional (tertiary) structure is particularly important. When this specific three-dimensional structure is disrupted, the protein loses its functionality and is said to have undergone denaturation.
The interactions, such as
hydrogen bonding
, that dictate the tertiary structure of proteins are not as strong as covalent chemical bonds. Because these interactions are rather weak, they can be disrupted with relatively modest stresses.
If a solution ...