Question

Denaturation of protein.

Hint:

Denaturation changes shape of proteins, not their peptide bond sequence.

Answer 1

Step 1: Understanding protein structure.
Proteins have four levels of structure: primary (sequence of amino acids), secondary (α-helix, β-sheet), tertiary (3D folding), and quaternary (multiple chains). Step 2: What is denaturation?
Denaturation is the process in which the secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structures of proteins are destroyed, while the primary structure (amino acid sequence) remains unchanged. Step 3: Causes.
Denaturation occurs due to heat, acids, alkalis, organic solvents, or heavy metals that disrupt hydrogen bonds, ionic bonds, and hydrophobic interactions. Step 4: Example.
The most common example is the coagulation of egg white (albumin) when boiled – it turns from soluble to insoluble solid. Step 5: Conclusion.
Hence, denaturation destroys biological activity of proteins by altering their shape.