Elements of Protein Structure

Objectives Module 2

• Understand the basic physical forces important in protein structure.
  • steric hindrance
  • ionic
  • polar / Hbond
  • Van Der Waals
  • hydrophobic
  • covalent
• The nature of different levels of protein structure.
  • Primary
  • Secondary
  • Tertiary
  • Quaternary
• The critical role that solvent (water in most cases) plays in directing protein structure.

Relationship to the Blood Coagulation Cascade

• The blood coagulation cascade function and regulation is determined by proteins
• These proteins contain the same structural elements as all other proteins.
• The form and function of proteins are determined by the physical interactions of amino acids and solvent.
• Some of the coagulation proteins are bound to the lipid membranes. Again, this is determined by the amino acid make-up and physical structure of the proteins.