Why are proteins water soluble and why do they become not water soluble after denaturation?

Answer 1

The solubility of a protein in water depends on the 3D shape of it. Usually globular proteins are soluble, while fibrous ones are not. Denaturation changes the 3D structure so the protein is not globular any more.

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Answer 2

This has to do with the properties of the amino acids in the protein.

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. While the backbone structures of all amino acids are similar, their side chains vary in terms of their properties; some are hydrophobic (not soluble in water), while others are hydrophylic (soluble in water).

The formation of a stable, water-soluble protein requires folding the amino acid chain so that the hydrophobic segments end up on the inside and the hydrophylic segments on the outside in order to form a functional protein.

Proteins undergo denaturation, which alters their three-dimensional structure and causes some of their (unfolded) hydrophobic side chains to become visible. This causes the protein to lose its solubility.

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Answer 3

Because of their special molecular structure, which includes side chains of charged and polar amino acids that interact well with water molecules, proteins are soluble in water; denaturation breaks these interactions, causing the protein to unfold and reveal hydrophobic regions, which makes it insoluble in water.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.

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