STRUCTURE OF PROTEINS

Proteins have different

levels of organization

 Primary Structure
 Secondary Structure
 Tertiary Structure
 Quaternary Structure
Primary Structure

 The primary structure of protein refers to the

sequence of amino acids present in the
polypeptide chain.
 Amino acids are covalently linked by peptide
binds or covalent bonds
 Secondary Structure

 It is a local, regularly
occurring structure in
proteins and is mainly formed
through hydrogen bonds
between backbone atoms
 Refers to the coiling or folding
of a polypeptide chain that
gives the protein its 3D shape
 Conformations of Secondary Structure
1. Alpha Helix Structure
 Right handed spiral structure
 Side chain extends outwards
 Stabilized by hydrogen bonding that are arranged
such that the peptide carbonyl oxygen and amide
hydrogen

2. Beta Pleated Sheet

 Formed when 2 or more polypeptides line up side
by side
 Each beta strands are fully extended
 Stabilized by hydrogen bond between N-H and
carbonyl groups of adjacent chains
Tertiary Structure

 Refers to the comprehensive

3-D shape of the polypeptide
chain of a protein
 Tertiary structure is based on
various types of interactions
between the side-chains of
the polypeptide chain
Interactions stabilizing tertiary structure:

1. Disulfide bonds- covalent bonds between sulfur atoms on two

cysteine amino acids

2. Hydrophobic interactions- close attraction of non-polar groups

through dispersion forces

3. Hydrogen bonds- occurs between polar side groups of amino

acids

4. Ionic interactions- attractions between polar or ionized R groups

and water on the surface of tertiary structure

5. Vander Waals force- ionic interactions between ionized R groups

of acidic and basic amino acids
 Quaternary Structure
 Involves the clustering of several
individual peptide or protein
chains into a final specific shape
 A variety of bonding interactions
including hydrogen bonding, salt
bridges and disulfide bonds hold
the various chains into a
particular geometry.
 Quaternary structure adds
stability by decreasing the
surface/volume ratio of smaller
subunit.