Protein Structure

A protein is a vital macromolecule, some may even argue the most important protein, that resides in the human body. Proteins, one or more polypeptide chains twisted, folded, and wound upon itself to form a specific 3-D shape, consists of far different structures. The four primary structures of a protien are the primary, secondary, and tertiary, and lastly, quarternary, a level that emerges whenever two or more polypeptide chains are found in a protein. To begin, the primary structure, is the key structure that will conclude what the shape will be of the protein, since it consists of the amino acid sequence that is determined by the information of the cellular genetic code. The primary structure holds a shape of a linear chain of amino acids.

A protein is held in the teritary structure by bonds such as hydrophobic interaction, that affect the folding and/or shape of the protein. Nonpolar amino acids with hydrophobic side chains will turn to clustering at the core of the protein while the polypeptide is folding into its shape, thus, when the non polar amino acids have come in close contact with eachother, van der Waals contribute to holding them together. At the same time, hydrogen bonds are helping stablilize the protein by placing themselves in between polar side chains and the ionic bonds placed between negative and positive side chains add on to that assistance. Not to mention, disfulfide bridges, also known as covalent bonds, help maintain the protein's shape by merging the side chains with the folding of the protein. Lastly, the quaternary structure, is the final product from the process of the structure consisting of several polypeptide chains, also known as subunits, being interacted with one another. For proteins to qualify in the quarterary structure, they must contain one or more of the same subunits, as well as be constructed of a variety of