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In biochemistry, denaturation is a process in which proteins or nucleic acids lose folded structure present in their native state due to various factors, including application of some external stress or compound, such as a strong acid or base, a concentrated inorganic salt, an organic solvent (e.g., alcohol or chloroform), agitation and radiation, or heat. [3]
In biochemistry, equilibrium unfolding is the process of unfolding a protein or RNA molecule by gradually changing its environment, such as by changing the temperature or pressure, pH, adding chemical denaturants, or applying force as with an atomic force microscope tip.
Instead of a mechanical stopping system, the reaction is halted by quenching, where the products are immediately stopped by freezing, chemical denaturation, or exposure to a denaturing light source. Similar to the continuous-flow method, the time between mixing and quenching can be adjusted by varying the length of the reaction tube.
Denaturation of proteins is a process of transition from a folded to an unfolded state. It happens in cooking , burns , proteinopathies , and other contexts. Residual structure present, if any, in the supposedly unfolded state may form a folding initiation site and guide the subsequent folding reactions.
The process of DNA denaturation can be used to analyze some aspects of DNA. Because cytosine / guanine base-pairing is generally stronger than adenine / thymine base-pairing, the amount of cytosine and guanine in a genome is called its GC-content and can be estimated by measuring the temperature at which the genomic DNA melts. [ 2 ]
The hyperchromic effect is the striking increase in absorbance of DNA upon denaturation. The two strands of DNA are bound together mainly by the stacking interactions, hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic effect between the complementary bases. The hydrogen bond limits the resonance of the aromatic ring so the absorbance of the sample is limited as well.
Guanidinium thiocyanate can be used to deactivate a virus, such as the influenza virus that caused the 1918 "Spanish flu", so that it can be studied safely.. Guanidinium thiocyanate is also used to lyse cells and virus particles in RNA and DNA extractions, where its function, in addition to its lysing action, is to prevent activity of RNase enzymes and DNase enzymes by denaturing them.
Heller's test is a chemical test that shows that strong acids cause the denaturation of precipitated proteins. Concentrated nitric acid is added to a protein solution from the side of the test tube to form two layers. A white ring appears between the two layers if the test is positive. [1]