Property of protein

Properties of Proteins

  Proteins are known to have the following major properties: 

 1.  Proteins have varying molecular weights. The molecular weights of insulin,  haemoglobin and immunoglobulins are 5700, 68000 and 150000 respectively. 

2.  Absorption of ultraviolet light. They strongly absorb U.V. light in the region between 200 to 240 nm. This is due to the amount of aromatic amino acid residues in them.

 3. They are charged molecules. They have characteristic isoelectric points (pI). They could be affected by change in pH. Buffers are therefore, used to stabilise their tertiary structure.

4.  They vary in size and shape. The shape of some proteins is globular while the shape of some others is fibrous. This is expected since their amino acid sequence and compositions are also quite different. For example, albumin is oval while insulin is globular.

5.   They have varying solubility property. Different agents such as salts, organic solvent such as ethanol, heat, heavy metals and organic acids have been used to precipitate proteins. Protein stability, therefore, could be affected by any of these agents.

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