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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]
When subjected to denaturing factors like increased heat or chemicals like formamide in low levels, DNA is partially denatured in a predictable pattern based on its nucleotide content in different regions. [1] This allows unique fingerprints or ‘barcodes' to be generated for molecules with different sequences not unlike restriction mapping.
The most famous example is the hyperchromicity of DNA that occurs when the DNA duplex is denatured. [1] The UV absorption is increased when the two single DNA strands are being separated, either by heat or by addition of denaturant or by increasing the pH level. The opposite, a decrease of absorbance is called hypochromicity.
A restriction map is a map of known restriction sites within a sequence of DNA.Restriction mapping requires the use of restriction enzymes.In molecular biology, restriction maps are used as a reference to engineer plasmids or other relatively short pieces of DNA, and sometimes for longer genomic DNA.
In the less extensive technique of equilibrium unfolding, the fractions of folded and unfolded molecules (denoted as and , respectively) are measured as the solution conditions are gradually changed from those favoring the native state to those favoring the unfolded state, e.g., by adding a denaturant such as guanidinium hydrochloride or urea.
Melting curve analysis is an assessment of the dissociation characteristics of double-stranded DNA during heating. As the temperature is raised, the double strand begins to dissociate leading to a rise in the absorbance intensity, hyperchromicity.
Nucleic acids are often denatured by including urea in the buffer, while proteins are denatured using sodium dodecyl sulfate, usually as part of the SDS-PAGE process. For full denaturation of proteins, it is also necessary to reduce the covalent disulfide bonds that stabilize their tertiary and quaternary structure , a method called reducing PAGE.
Denaturation may refer to: . Denaturation (biochemistry), a structural change in macromolecules caused by extreme conditions Denaturation (fissile materials), transforming fissile materials so that they cannot be used in nuclear weapons