Question

What is the denaturation and renaturation of proteins?

Answer 1

Proteins:

Proteins are large biomacromolecules that consist of long chains of amino acid residues connected through peptide bonds.

Denaturation:

1. Denaturation refers to the process of breaking weak bonds and linkages (like hydrogen bonds) within the polypeptide chain.
2. It could be done by using chemical agents like Beta-mercaptoethanol, Urea, etc.
3. It is responsible for a more random tertiary structure but the basic primary structure with covalent peptide linkages remains the same.
4. Denatured proteins lose their biological activity.

Renaturation:

1. Renaturation is basically the reverse of denaturation.
2. It involves the reconstruction of a protein into its original tertiary structure after denaturation.
3. Thus, the protein once again regains its biological activity.