Section 4.9: Protein Denaturation and Renaturation

After a survey of the elements of protein structure, we will now begin considering the relationship between structure and function
Experiments in the denaturation and renaturation of a protein demonstrate how its function can be lost and regained upon changes in its structure
Denaturation is the disruption of the native conformation of a protein, the characteristic three-dimensional structure that it attains after synthesis
Renaturation is the process in which the native conformation of a protein is reacquired. For many proteins, especially small ones, renaturation can occur quickly and spontaneously under the appropriate conditions
The experiments of Anfinsen in the 1960s on the denaturation and renaturation of ribonuclease A helped to reveal some of the mechanisms and constraints of protein folding and its relationship to function