THE STRUCTURE OF PROTEINS
This page explains how amino acids combine to make proteins and what is meant by the
primary, secondary and tertiary structures of proteins. Quaternary structure isn't covered.
It only applies to proteins consisting of more than...
More
THE STRUCTURE OF PROTEINS
This page explains how amino acids combine to make proteins and what is meant by the
primary, secondary and tertiary structures of proteins. Quaternary structure isn't covered.
It only applies to proteins consisting of more than one polypeptide chain. There is a
mention of quaternary structure on the IB chemistry syllabus, but on no other UK-based
syllabus at this level.
Note: Quaternary structure can be very
complicated, and I don't know exactly what depth the
IB syllabus wants for this (which is why I haven't
included it). I suspect what is wanted is fairly trivial.
IB students should ask the advice of their teacher or
lecturer.
The primary structure of proteins
Drawing the amino acids
In chemistry, if you were to draw the structure of a general 2-amino acid, you would
probably draw it like this:
However, for drawing the structures of proteins, we usually twist it so that the "R" group
sticks out at the side. It is much easier to see what is happening if you
Less
