1.8 Proteins Flashcards
Proteins contain the elements…
Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sometimes sulfur
Proteins are composed of…
Amino acids
All amino acids have a…
Carboxylic acid group (COOH) and an amino group (NH2)
Have a different side chain
Essential amino acids mean…
We have to eat them in our diet
Others are non-essential which means…
We can make them from other amino acids that we have eaten
Polypeptide chain (joining of amino acids) is created through…
Condensation reaction
A protein is…
A polymer made of amino acids
A tertiary structure is…
The polypeptide chain coils and bends, then it coils up again into an overall 3D shape
Tertiary structure is held together by…
Bonds between the amino acids in the polypeptide chain, these bonds form between the different R-groups
Disulfide bridges are…
Fairly strong bonds formed in sulfur containing amino acids (in R-group)
Hydrogen bonds are…
Formed because of weak attractions between atoms (proteins usually contain several of these hydrogen bonds - important)
Denaturation is when…
Hydrogen bonds in a protein break, tertiary structure is altered and the protein can no longer carry out its function
Usually non-reversible
