Biomolecules: proteins — structure, classification, amino acids
Biochemistry · MBBS
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Study notes
Boiling an egg turns the clear white opaque and rubbery. This is denaturation — heat breaks the weak bonds holding albumin's folded shape, the chains tangle and aggregate irreversibly. The amino acid sequence (primary structure) is unchanged, but the 3D shape — and with it, the protein's function — is destroyed. The same principle: stomach acid denatures food proteins for digestion, high fever threatens enzymes, and misfolded proteins cause disease (prions, Alzheimer's plaques). Shape is function.
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